Advertisement
Biden corrects claim he convinced Kishida to hike defence budget after disquiet in Japan
- The US president told his supporters that he persuaded Prime Minister Kishida to sharply increase the country’s military budget
- A White House transcript included a corrected version of Biden’s speech after Tokyo said it considered the claim untrue
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
US President Joe Biden has corrected himself after saying last week that he had persuaded Japan to significantly increase its defence budget, according to a White House transcript released on Wednesday.
Advertisement
“He didn’t need my convincing as much as he’d already decided,” Biden is quoted as saying about Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a campaign reception on Tuesday night at a private house in Maryland.
Biden praised Japan for actively engaging with Western countries’ efforts to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s invasion, telling Democrat supporters that Kishida understood failing to offer assistance “would send a green light about [China invading] Taiwan and a number of other things.”
Japan on Friday objected to Biden’s remark that he had pushed Kishida on three occasions to increase the budget, with the country’s top spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno saying Tokyo had made clear to Washington it considered the claim untrue.
The disagreement between the long-standing security allies stemmed from a speech made by Biden at an event held at a private residence in California on June 20.
Advertisement
Advertisement