Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that he had a tripartite meeting with outgoing US President Joe Biden and Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr. via video.
According to the Kyodo news agency, in a conversation with journalists at his residence in Tokyo, he said that the participants of the negotiations were in favor of strengthening maritime and economic security, building reliable oceanic infrastructures, and developing cooperation.
Ishiba also told Biden that business circles not only in Japan but also in the United States are worried about the outgoing president's decision to block the sale of American steel company US Steel to Japan's largest Nippon Steel Corporation.
Biden blocked the deal on national security grounds, the White House announced in early January.
