It was at an 18th century Georgian manor house outside London that Japanese lawmaker Rui Matsukawa began to have serious doubts about America¡¯s commitment to defending her country.
Matsukawa, a former deputy defense minister, traveled in March to historic Fordham Abbey for a top-level bilateral conference. At the estate, now home to a Japanese-owned sake brewery, she said she learned from British lawmakers, diplomats and business leaders that a tectonic shift in their thinking was underway.
U.S. President Donald Trump was openly berating America¡¯s European allies and tilting toward Russia. And Europe had ¡°awakened,¡± she said, to the fact it could no longer rely so heavily on America and must take more responsibility for its security.
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