Trump Adviser Calls for Talks on U.S. Troop Costs in Japan
- Michael Flynn speaks to Nikkei newspaper during visit to Tokyo
- Adviser says Trump prefers bilateral trade deals over TPP
Michael Flynn.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. should hold talks with Japan over the share each country pays for the stationing of American troops in its ally’s territory, a foreign policy adviser to presidential candidate Donald Trump said in an interview with the Nikkei newspaper published Thursday.
The comments by Michael Flynn on a trip to Tokyo came two weeks after Trump reiterated in a debate accusations that Japan was among a list of countries that "do not pay" for defense provided by the U.S. In fact, Japan is set to pay about 377 billion yen ($3.6 billion) this year alone toward the cost of maintaining approximately 54,000 U.S. military personnel in the country, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry.