According to Caixin News on September 6th (Editor Xia Junxiong), after the news of the US government's consideration of blocking the acquisition of US steel by the United States Steel Corporation was exposed, it caused a considerable backlash in Japan. Analysts warn that this may affect the alliance relationship between the United States and Japan.

Japan Steel announced in December last year that it would spend $14.9 billion to acquire the United States Steel Corporation. This deal has received strong opposition domestically in the United States and has been under investigation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) since last year.

On Wednesday, the media reported that President Biden is preparing to block the deal, and a decision could be made as early as this week. This report coincided with the imminent election of a new leader for the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. Under Japan's political system, the newly elected leader of the ruling party will naturally become the new prime minister of Japan.

At present, two candidates have criticized the US government.

Japanese Digital Minister Taro Kono said that the US government should not intervene in the deal between Japan Steel and the United States Steel Corporation.

Former Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party, Shigeru Ishiba, even bluntly stated that this action could undermine trust between allies.

Japan is one of the United States' closest allies and its largest foreign investor.

Some analysts' views are similar to those of Shigeru Ishiba, believing that the Biden administration's blocking of the deal could damage the relationship between the United States and Japan.

Marc Busch, a researcher at the Bharat Global Business Center at the Georgetown University School of Business, said that the U.S. government's blocking of the U.S. Steel acquisition case would not only undermine the work on national security between the U.S. and Japan, but also make the concept of "ally shoring" more questionable.

Busch said, "Japan and other allied countries will come to the conclusion that Washington is just playing protectionist politics."

William Zhou, a Japanese affairs expert at the conservative think tank Hudson Institute, warned that this could make Japan hesitate in supporting U.S.-led economic security initiatives, such as preventing adversaries from obtaining advanced semiconductors.

He said, "What I heard from Japan is a feeling of disappointment, that we have collaborated with you on our economic security priority in the semiconductor field, but have not received any reciprocal treatment in terms of foreign direct investment priorities."

The Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) said on Friday that Japanese companies, especially those considering investing in the United States, are closely watching the U.S. government's review of the U.S. Steel acquisition case. Keidanren is Japan's largest business lobbying group.