Part of the credit for adopting long-delayed aid package for Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel belongs to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, said Kurt Campbell, the second-ranking official in the US State Department, quoted by Kyodo and BTA news agencies.
Japan's strategic thinking is increasingly global and Tokyo, unlike in the past, is persuading Washington to do more to exercise leadership in solving international problems, Campbell added at a think tank event reviewing recent Kishida's visit to Washington. It came a day after the US Congress finally passed a $95 billion aid package that also provides funding for Israel and Taiwan.
The deputy secretary of state added that Kishida deserves at least some of the credit for approving the new aid package, given that a number of US House congressmen told the diplomat they were "pretty excited" ; from the Japanese leader's speech about two weeks ago to a joint session of Congress.
After months of gridlock due to infighting among Republicans over Washington's commitment to democracy around the world, the House of Representatives, which the party controls by a narrow margin, passed the budget on Saturday. The Democratic-controlled Senate approved it Tuesday night, Kyodo recalled.