Asahi carried a prominent inside-page story on the Trump administration’s policy of promoting defense hardware exports, in which was noted the official launch on Tuesday of a Defense and Aerospace Export Council by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The article contended the President’s export drive is linked to his desire to reduce the U.S. trade deficit, increase jobs at home, and keep in check China, which has aggressively marketed defense equipment abroad in the past decade. Noting that Japan is one of the biggest potential customers of American weapons systems, the paper speculated that Japan’s procurement of U.S. defense hardware may be high on the agenda of the upcoming bilateral consultations for a “free, fair, and reciprocal trade deal.” Asahi added its analysis that Washington is also keen to export more weapons to foreign partners in the expectation that their use of U.S. defense equipment will help reduce U.S. costs for stationing troops overseas.