No other politician has such a wide "perception gap" in his home country and abroad than Fumio Kishida. The prime minister, on a state visit to the United States, declared the Japan-U.S. relationship as a "global partnership" at his summit meeting with President Joe Biden. Biden gave an unreserved thumbs up with U.S. media coverage being relatively favorable, while the Japanese media was mixed at best.
The liberal-leaning Asahi Shimbun already reported there was a proposal to strengthen cooperation in “‘command and control’ for the operation of their forces in case of emergency.” The paper offered the criticism that “If bilateral command and control is deepened, there is a risk that the Self-Defense Forces could effectively come under U.S. command in the event of a contingency. ... It is unclear how the Japanese side will be able to guarantee independent command authority.” Even conservative politician Ichiro Matsui warned that Kishida shouldn’t turn Japan into an “unlimited ATM.”
In contrast, U.S. President Biden stated the following at a joint news conference. “Over the last three years, the partnership between Japan and the United States has been transformed into a truly global partnership. And that's thanks in no small part to the courageous leadership of Prime Minister Kishida. And I mean that sincerely.” Biden's use of "truly" or his statement "I mean that sincerely" in his comments are probably genuine.
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