Japan's Foreign Minister "Can't Hear"?
On November 25, Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi performed an embarrassing act of "hearing impairment" during a press conference.
At that time, a Reuters reporter asked whether U.S. President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio had not expressed support for Japan regarding the current tense Sino-Japanese situation. Motegi seemed confused and asked the reporter to repeat the question three times before finally brushing it off with the excuse that "the U.S. will not comment on every issue individually."
Did Motegi really "not hear"? Of course not.
On that day, the reason why Motegi appeared to have "hearing problems" was because the question from the Reuters reporter touched upon the sensitive nerve of the U.S.-Japan relationship.
Since the incident caused by Asako Kishida's remarks about Taiwan, the United States, as Japan's treaty ally, did not express clear support. On the 25th, Trump apparently scolded Kishida in a phone call - the most direct evidence is that Kishida remained silent about the content of the conversation after the call.
Therefore, Motegi could not answer the reporter's question directly. He could not publicly acknowledge that the U.S. and Japan were keeping their distance, yet he needed to maintain the surface harmony of the U.S.-Japan alliance. Faced with this dilemma, he could only use the diplomatic euphemism "the U.S. will not comment on every issue individually" to hastily wrap up the matter.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849839116255241/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.