In sharp contrast to the outpouring of condemnation by leaders across the globe, top Japanese officials declined to comment on the tightened immigration policy of U.S. President Donald Trump, calling the move a domestic affair.
"We are not in a position to express the view of the Japanese government" on Trump's executive order, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told an Upper House session Monday. "At any rate, we believe the international community should jointly cope with refugee issues."
Abe, who like all of Japan's postwar prime ministers has based most of his key security and diplomatic policies on the military alliance with the United States, has not openly criticized any of Trump's controversial policies and remarks on immigration issues thus far.