Trump Muses Privately About Ending Postwar Japan Defense Pact
- President wants compensation for Okinawa Marine base move
- Japan says there’s been no talk of reviewing the alliance
The USS John S. McCain destroyer at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan.
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images
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President Donald Trump has recently mused to confidants about withdrawing from a longstanding defense treaty with Japan, according to three people familiar with the matter, in his latest complaint about what he sees as unfair U.S. security pacts.
Trump regards the accord as too one-sided because it promises U.S. aid if Japan is ever attacked, but doesn’t oblige Japan’s military to come to America’s defense, the people said. The treaty, signed more than 60 years ago, forms the foundation of the alliance between the countries that emerged from World War II.
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Trump Muses Privately About Ending Postwar Japan Defense Pact