Japanese Automaker Embarrasses Trump Over $10 Billion Promise

A senior executive at Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that the Japanese automaker did not explicitly commit to a new $10 billion investment in the United States, a day after President Donald Trump mentioned a potential investment of that size.

According to CNN, Trump stated during his visit to Japan Tuesday evening that the world's largest automaker would seek to invest approximately $10 billion in the US. However, Toyota executive Hiroyuki Ueda told reporters that during discussions with the Japanese government and the US embassy prior to Trump's visit, no explicit promise of such an investment was made. He added that Toyota would continue to invest and create jobs in America.

"During the first Trump administration, I believe the figure was around $10 billion," Ueda said on the sidelines of the Japan Mobility Exhibition in Tokyo. "So, although we didn't mention that exact amount, we made it clear that we would continue to invest and create jobs as before. Perhaps it was in this context that the figure of approximately $10 billion was mentioned."

He added: “Therefore, we did not specifically mention that we would invest $10 billion over the next few years.” Ueda also stated that the topic of investment was not raised when Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda spoke briefly with Trump at an event held at the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday evening.

Trump met with Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sana Tachikawa, on Tuesday. Trump welcomed Tachikawa’s pledge to accelerate the strengthening of Japan’s military capabilities and signed agreements on trade and rare earth minerals.