Gorge Glass, the recently appointed United States ambassador to Japan, told reporters on Friday that Tokyo sits in a "very tough neighborhood," with China, North Korea, and Russia.
Glass, who just arrived in Japan to take up his post, underlined that the country is Washington's "most important ally," adding that the US and Japan need to make sure their militaries have everything they need to "push back against a country like China."
When talking about negotiations on tariffs, the US envoy shared he was "extremely optimistic" that Washington and Tokyo would reach an agreement. "We have two very sophisticated economies that are very successful, and they are two of the top five economies of the world," he commented.
