Donald Trump accuses Hillary Clinton of lying over a quote he definitely said: 'There's no quote'

Mr Trump denies he said Japan should be able to defend itself with nuclear weapons

Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton a “liar” during the final presidential debate – after she brought up comments he made on television in April.

The Republican presidential candidate accused his rival of misquoting him when she said Mr Trump had claimed Japan should be able to defend itself with nuclear weapons.

“This is a person who has been very cavalier, even casual, about the use of nuclear weapons.” said Ms Clinton. “He’s advocated more countries getting them: Japan, Korea, even Saudi Arabia.”

Mr Trump shook his head and called the claims “just another lie” at the debate on Wednesday, the third and last stand-off before the US election on 8 November.

“Look, she’s been proven to be a liar in so many different ways. This is just another lie,” he said.

“There’s no quote. You’re not going to find a quote from me.”

But in a televised interview with debate moderator Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday in early April, Mr Trump had indeed said just that.

“North Korea has nukes. Japan has a problem with that. I mean, they have a big problem with that. Maybe they would in fact be better off if they defend themselves from North Korea,“ he said.

“With nukes?“ asked Mr Wallace, to which Mr Trump replied:”Including with nukes, yes, including with nukes."

And in March, during another interview broadcast on CNN, Mr Trump said: “At some point we have to say, ‘you know what, we’re better off if Japan protects itself against this maniac in north Korea.'”

Japan has had a pacifist constitution and non-nuclear policy since the end of the Second World War, when two nuclear bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima by America.

“It's going to happen anyway. It's only a question of time,” he said. “They're going to start having them or we have to get rid of them entirely.”

At the time, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe responded to Mr Trump’s comments. “Whoever will become the next president of the United States, the Japan-US alliance is the cornerstone of Japan's diplomacy,“ he said.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida added: “It is impossible that Japan will arm itself with nuclear weapons," according to CNN.

Democratic candidate Ms Clinton expressed her concern over Mr Trump’s attitude to nuclear weapons at Wednesday's debate.

“He said: ‘If we have them, why don’t we use them?’ which I think is terrifying,” she said.

“But here’s the deal. The bottom line on nuclear weapons is, when the president gives the order, it must be followed. There’s about four minutes between the order being given and the people responsible for launching nuclear weapons to do so.

“That’s why ten people who have had that awesome responsibility have come out in an unprecedented way and said they would not trust Donald Trump with the nuclear codes or to have his finger on the nuclear button."