One of Japan's top policymakers has indicated that the government will continue to resist U.S. efforts to create a bilateral free trade agreement between the two nations.
"Japan is not going to do anything with any country that harms the national interest," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. "With FTA negotiations too, we'll handle them in that way."
During a wide-ranging interview in Tokyo on Saturday, Suga also said he expects Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to stand for re-election in September as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. If Abe wins that contest, which appears likely, he could remain prime minister until 2021 to become the nation's longest serving postwar prime minister.
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