President Donald Trump arrives Monday in Japan where new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is banking on building a friendly personal relationship with the U.S.
President Donald Trump arrives Monday in Japan where new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is banking on building a friendly personal relationship with the U.S. leader to ease trade tensions.
The meeting is an early diplomatic test for Takaichi, the first woman to lead Japan. She took office only last week, and has a tenuous coalition backing her.
Trump spent Sunday in Malaysia, where he participated in a regional summit.
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Trump came back to the press cabin on Air Force One along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. They took questions for about a half hour.
Trump said he would talk about the “great friendship” between the U.S. and Japan during his visit.
“I hear phenomenal things” about the new Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, Trump said. He noted her closeness with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom Trump had a good relationship during his first term.
“It’s going to be very good,” he said. “That really helps Japan and the United States.”
There’s no shortage of security issues in the region, including access to the South China Sea and the future of Taiwan. But Trump’s focus has undoubtedly been trade and his desire to realign the international economy in his vision of “America first.”
For the most part, that means tariffs, or at least the threat of them.
