Japan Denies WSJ Report on Trump-Takaichi Phone Talks

Tokyo, Nov. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara on Thursday denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming that U.S. President Donald Trump advised Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae not to provoke China over Taiwan. “There is no such fact,” Kihara told a press conference, adding that the government has lodged a protest with the U.S. newspaper. According to the WSJ report based on information from Japanese and U.S. officials, Trump advised Takaichi in a phone meeting to temper her tone on the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty, which Kihara said was incorrect. However, the Japanese government has not called on the paper to retract the article. The report said that, while urging a calmer tone on the matter, Trump did not urge Takaichi to walk back her parliamentary remark on Taiwan that has angered Beijing. Kihara did not address this point. The Japanese prime minister said in a parliamentary committee meeting that a Taiwan contingency could create a situation that threatens Japan’s survival, allowing the country to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Kihara avoided commenting on the WSJ report at an earlier press briefing Thursday morning, before denying it in the afternoon after “judging that it was necessary to clarify the matter” due to “many inquiries made to the government.” Among Japanese government officials familiar with the content of the Trump-Takaichi phone meeting, some dismissed the report as false, while others said it is difficult to clarify to what extent it is incorrect. Some within the Japanese government are worried about Washington and Beijing aligning on the issue, as the WSJ report said that Trump is concerned about the negative impact of Japan-China tensions on U.S.-China trade. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]