US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted during a visit to Tokyo on Tuesday that ties with Japan were stronger than ever, days after President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel's takeover of US Steel.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken lauded the close economic and security partnership between the US and Japan after a controversial move by US President Joe Biden to label Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. as a national security risk.

By David Brunnstrom, Simon Lewis, Trevor Hunnicutt and Tim Kelly WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to block Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel cast a shadow over Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Japan on Tuesday for farewell meetings with Washington's most important ally in Asia.