TOKYO, Sept 14 (Askume) – Japan’s leading prime ministerial candidate Shinjiro Koizumi said on Saturday that Japan and the United States should avoid conflict in the steel industry and cooperate over competition from China, the world’s biggest steelmaker.
A powerful U.S. national security panel is weighing a $200 million fine on Nippon Steel Corp (5401.T)The U.S. is reviewing its $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel Corp. (XN) , with a Sept. 23 deadline set for whether the White House should block the deal.
Koizumi, a former Japanese environment minister, said in a debate on Saturday that Japan and the United States should not confront each other over steel industry issues but face “common challenges” from China’s steel industry.
“If China floods the global market by producing cheap steel without renewable or clean energy, the most adverse effects will be on those of us who are democracies that operate under fair market rules,” Koizumi said.
Nippon Steel’s chief negotiator on the deal, Vice President Takahiro Mori, said last month that the company and other Japanese steelmakers were urging Tokyo to limit imports of cheap steel from China to protect the local market.
Nippon Steel and US Steel Corp sent a letter to US President Joe Biden on Sunday to discuss their deal , as Biden, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump all oppose the merger.
When asked about the deal, Koizumi said, “We, like the United States, are going through elections where different views may emerge. To overreact to each of them would, in my opinion, be to challenge this decision.”
Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s minister in charge of economic security and another prime ministerial candidate, also defended the agreement on Saturday at the same debate that also involved eight other contenders for the LDP leadership.
“It appears they are using CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) to look at this as an economic security issue,” he said.
“However, Japan and the United States are allies, and the steel industry aims to strengthen our mutual resilience.”
Junichiro Koizumi, the 43-year-old son of former Prime Minister Koizumi, is seen as the main contender for the election of the Liberal Democratic Party’s new leader on September 27. Given that the party controls parliament, Koizumi will become the next prime minister.
Koizumi said on Saturday he is willing to hold talks with North Korean leaders to resolve the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s.
“We want to explore new opportunities for dialogue between generations without being bound by traditional ideas and without any preconditions,” Koizumi said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un turns 40 this year.
