The protectionist tune on trade that U.S. President Donald Trump often sings is hardly a unique problem for Japanese policymakers who have long faced pressure over Japan's strength in exporting everything from vehicles to video games all over the globe.
But often lost in these disputes on trade is a question: Does buying more than one sells abroad — a trade deficit — amount to economic weakness?
The famously mercurial U.S. president has almost never wavered in answering that export powerhouses such as Japan, China and Germany are sending too many goods to the United States.