Trump Raps Japan, Others for Not Helping U.S. in Iran Operations

Washington, April 6 (Jiji Press)--U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday criticized Japan, South Korea and Australia for failing to support U.S. military operations against Iran.

At a press conference, Trump renewed his criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for its reluctance to cooperate with the United States. "You know who else didn't help us?" he then asked, referring to Japan, South Korea and Australia by name.

"We've got 50,000 soldiers in Japan to protect them from North Korea," Trump emphasized.

On South Korea, the president said, "We have 45,000 soldiers in harm's way, right next to (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un with a lot of nuclear weapons."

In his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in March, Trump said that unlike NATO, Japan is "really stepping up to the plate." In subsequent deliberations in Japan's parliament, Takaichi indicated that she believed the United States had understood that Japan faces constitutional constraints regarding the dispatch of its Self-Defense Forces to the Strait of Hormuz.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]