Abe: Japan will buy more weapons to create jobs - in U.S.
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Abe told the Diet on February 15 that the move, in line with U.S. President Donald Trump's “Buy American” slogan, will contribute to the U.S. economy and job creation.
“Japan has introduced U.S. defense equipment using state-of-the-art technology and it is vital to our country’s defense,” he said at an Upper House plenary session.
“National security and the economy should be separated as a matter of course, but I believe that buying U.S. defense equipment will contribute to the U.S. economy and job creation.”
The prime minister was replying to Shoji Nishida, an Upper House member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Nishida asked Abe’s stance on the idea that Japan’s defense buildup would not only ease the U.S. military’s burden, but also assist Washington in expanding exports of its arms, a key industry in the United States, and in cutting trade deficits with Tokyo. ■