Relations between the United States and Japan have apparently got off to a glowing start as U.S. President Donald Trump was welcomed by Japan’s newest prime minister, and the nation’s first female head of government, Sanae Takaichi, to Akasaka Palace on Monday.
President Trump arrived at the prime minister’s residence in Tokyo at 9:30 a.m. local time (10:00 in Washington D.C.) and was greeted by his ebullient host as part of the second leg of the president’s Asia trip, which began in Malaysia on Sunday.
Prime Minister Takaichi absorbed President Trump into a morning of Japanese pageantry and procession, with a band and a full honor guard to welcome the U.S. president to Tokyo.
The pair eventually sat down and signed an agreement that involved rare-earth minerals, including an agreement to formalize a new “golden era” of U.S.-Japanese relations, as Putin’s Russia to the west and Xi’s China to the south shift closer together on a strategic Sino-Russo alliance that puts officials in Washington on edge.
A document was also signed to officialize an agreement that was reached between the Trump administration and Takaichi’s predecessor, which includes a 15% tariff on Japanese exports to the United States.
Japan’s tariff negotiations with the United States since President Trump retook the White House in January have created tremendous volatility, not only with Japan’s Nikkei stock market, but also in its domestic politics.
The negotiations, strenuous as they were, contributed to former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation and the ascendency of Senae Takaichi in early September.
The duo later boarded the USS George Washington, a U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which was docked at Japan’s Yokosuka naval base.
Trump addressed U.S. military personnel aboard the USS George Washington, calling the U.S. relationship with Japan “one of the most remarkable relationships in the world.”
Prime Minister Takaichi followed the U.S. president’s lead and commitment to the alliance, pledging that Japan is dedicated to “fundamentally reinforcing its defense capability” and asserting that her nation is “ready to contribute even more proactively to peace and stability in the region.”
President Trump has previously spoken highly of U.S. relations with the Japanese government and people, and has viewed his relationship with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with fond memories.
Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan from 2006-2007 and then again from 2012-2020, was a close personal friend to the U.S. president, but was assassinated by a lone gunman on July 8, 2022, while delivering a campaign speech in Nara prefecture.
The assassin, 45-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a Japanese court, three years after the murder of the Japanese prime minister.
Takaichi has often been described as Abe’s “protege”, a conservative Japanese firebrand with a rebellious past and once a member of a Japanese rock band.
As previously reported by Sociedad following Takaichi’s rise as the new leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Takaichi is an “outspoken critic of solar energy and large solar panel projects across the Asian nation, and argues that most panels are manufactured in China and negatively impact the local environment.”
“Takaichi has pushed for a return of conventional energy means and a restoration of Japanese nuclear power, which could contribute to lower energy bills for Japanese residents.”
Although Takaichi has also pushed for greater self-reliance on the defense front and to move away from U.S. military dependency, Takaichi is also committed to maintaining close U.S.-Japanese cooperation militarily and strategically.
