Japanese firms have been "good corporate citizens" in the United States by investing billions of dollars and creating numerous jobs there, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga maintained Thursday, brushing off criticism by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Suga was asked by reporters to comment on Trump's Wednesday news conference, when he said the U.S. doesn't "make good deals anymore" with China, Japan and Mexico and is losing "hundreds of billions" of dollars with those countries every year.
"As of now, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, accumulated direct investment by Japanese firms has totaled $411 billion, and about 840,000 people have been employed," Suga told a news conference.