(Update 2) Japan, U.S. Foreign Chiefs Discuss U.S. Steel Buyout Plan

   Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken exchanged views Tuesday on Nippon Steel Corp.'s plan to acquire United States Steel Corp., which outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered the two companies to abandon.
   In their meeting at a Tokyo hotel, Iwaya and Blinken reaffirmed the importance of economic relations between the two countries, including investment by Japanese companies in the United States.
   In the order dated Friday, Biden cited the need to protect his country's national security as the reason for blocking Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel. But his order provoked a backlash from Japan's business community, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told a press conference Monday that he would seek an explanation from the U.S. government for the decision.
   Meanwhile, Iwaya said at the start of the meeting that the Japan-U.S. alliance has grown stronger than ever during the past four years of the Biden administration, and that he wants to take the alliance to new heights.
   In response, Blinken suggested that he expects the current momentum for stronger bilateral ties to continue after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office later this month.

(2025/01/07-17:23)

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