U.S. will defend Japan, Taiwan if Trump wins election: H.R. McMaster

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. will remain committed to defending Japan and Taiwan even if Donald Trump returns to the White House after the November election, former national security adviser H.R. McMaster tells Nikkei, saying he thinks the former president would be "convinced of the strategic importance" of American forces in Japan for deterring China.

McMaster, a retired lieutenant general who served the Trump administration as national security adviser for just over a year beginning in February 2017, spoke with Nikkei in an online interview May 3.