Ishiba weighs up Trump's suggestion that Japan buys US oil
Remark follows accusation that Tokyo is engaged in unfair trade in cars
TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is weighing up U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that Japan buy oil from the U.S. to reduce bilateral trade imbalances.
"The U.S. is indeed the biggest producer of oil. But we have to think about the price and the type of oil they produce," Ishiba said in an interview with Nikkei.
"Oil is different from natural gas," he stressed. "You cannot just say, 'Yes, we're ready to buy a lot of oil from the U.S.'"
Trump has been calling for investment from countries such as Japan and South Korea in natural gas fields in Alaska, which Japan has been considering as a way to diversify its sources of supply.
Ishiba's remark follows news that Trump has accused Japan of engaging in unfair trade in automobiles and demanded the country increase is purchases of U.S. energy resources.
Trump said, in an interview broadcast on Fox News, "And we have a big deficit with Japan, and they understand that, too. Now we have oil. They could take a lot of oil; they could take a lot of other things."
Ishiba said he is aware of the remark, adding that the idea "requires further, more detailed consideration."