Japan Declined to Get Involved in Operation against Iran: Trump

Evian, France, June 17 (Jiji Press)–U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Japan declined to join the U.S. military operation against Iran when he asked whether Tokyo wanted to participate. At a press conference following the Group of Seven summit in Evian, eastern France, Trump said he had asked Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi whether Japan would want to “get involved a little bit,” but that she said her country did not wish to do so. Japan “was not willing to get involved during the war,” he also said, adding that he did not press the country. When asked whether he had requested other G7 members to send troops, Trump said he did not need them. He expressed disappointment that “they all want to” get involved now but were unwilling to do so while the conflict was going on. A G7 summit statement on geopolitical issues, released Wednesday, included an agreement to work together to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil transportation route. Regarding the potential deployment of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to the Strait of Hormuz, Takaichi said the same day that Japan will examine a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran and the actual situation associated with it. At his press conference, Trump described Takaichi as his “biggest fan” and said she is “doing very well.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]