Japan–United States relations

Japan and the United States are discussing ways to boost military cooperation, Tokyo's top government spokesman said Monday, after reports said U.S. operations in the country could be strengthened to counter China.

Turkey will open a consulate in Japan's Nagoya city, the fourth largest city of the Asian country, under a presidential decree.

On Monday, President Donald Trump told the Congress that the United States and Japan are ready to enter into a restricted trade agreement that will reduce some of the bilateral tariffs and set conditions for digital commerce, Wall Street Journal reports.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet on Dec. 24 approved Japan's biggest ever annual defense budget, as the country bolsters its military amid territorial rows and concerns over China's expanding naval reach.

Japan, the world's third largest economy by nominal GDP, expects the finalization of two agreements with Turkey which will increase its investments in the country and the $3.5 billion trade volume between the two nations, a spokesperson for the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. 

The governor of Okinawa said on Sept.14 he will revoke approval for work on a US air base in southern Japan, in the latest setback to the controversial plan.

A U.S. military helicopter crashed in waters off the Japanese southern island of Okinawa during a training mission on Aug. 12, injuring six people and prompting Japan?s government to demand a probe and steps to prevent a recurrence. 

Japan said on August 4 it was suspending construction of a contentious U.S. air base on the island of Okinawa for a month to give time for talks between the central government and island authorities opposed to the facility. 

Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki on May 13 threw his weight behind a fund aimed at blocking a controversial plan to move a U.S. military base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.

Over seven decades after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and dragged the United States into a global war, Americans and Japanese overwhelmingly trust each other and are wary of China, an opinion poll has shown.