U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick to be ambassador to Japan, George Glass, said he will “undoubtedly” need to press Japan to contribute more money for hosting American troops in the country, while also having “tough conversations” about the allies’ economic relationship.
“Whether we have weapons systems that we need to upgrade, command-and-control that we’re going to be upgrading along with the Japanese, these are very expensive ventures,” Glass told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing Thursday in Washington. “And so undoubtedly, I do believe we’re going to have to go to the Japanese and talk about an increase in that support.”
The remarks were the latest volley from the Trump administration to target Japan, following similar comments by other nominees for top government posts and claims by the president, himself, that the bilateral security alliance is one-sided.
