Tokyo
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Months earlier than she grew to become Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi mentioned she’d been invited to satisfy US President Donald Trump.
It was November, simply after his election victory and a number of other figures near Trump had urged her to go to Washington, she posted on her official X account.
But she declined, insisting then-Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba needs to be the primary Japanese lawmaker to satisfy the new US chief.
“However, I aim to work hard toward holding a position that would allow me to meet him in a dignified manner someday,” she wrote.
That “someday” has arrived.
Takaichi’s first main test on the worldwide stage comes as she heads to the ASEAN summit in Malaysia and the APEC assembly in South Korea, journeys that may reveal how a lot of her trademark conservative rhetoric she brings into workplace. But probably the most carefully watched second will come between these summits, when Trump visits Tokyo to satisfy Emperor Naruhito and sits down with Takaichi for the primary time on Tuesday.
Aboard Air Force One on his option to Asia, Trump spoke extremely of Takaichi.
The pair spoke on the cellphone Saturday, in what Trump known as a “very good” cellphone name. “She great, beautiful … She’s very friendly,” he advised reporters aboard Air Force One following the decision.
For Japan’s new chief, the stakes are excessive. Though the US-Japan alliance is likely one of the world’s strongest, Takaichi’s restricted diplomatic expertise and Trump’s unpredictability make their first assembly a essential test.
Their talks are anticipated to cowl tariffs, regional safety and Japan’s protection spending, all factors of pressure in current months. Within Japan’s conservative ruling celebration, some fear Washington’s dedication to the Indo-Pacific is fading, because it calls for extra from allies.
At house, Takaichi faces her personal challenges. Her Liberal Democratic Party continues to be recovering from corruption scandals, and her efficiency overseas may form each her political future and her celebration’s restoration. Her approval score sits at a powerful 71%, a quantity her staff shall be eager to protect.
Defense will prime the agenda.
Under former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan pledged to lift protection spending to 2% of GDP by 2027. Takaichi now desires to speed up that timeline to March 2026, calling for Japan to “proactively advance the fundamental strengthening of its defense capabilities” at her first handle in Japan’s parliament. But how the buildup shall be financed stays unclear. With the yen weakening and Takaichi pushing tax cuts, she could wrestle to fund her ambitions.
Trade may show equally thorny. Since returning to workplace, Trump has reignited his tariff wars, concentrating on even longtime allies. After months of talks, tariffs on Japanese items dropped from 25% to 15%, whereas Tokyo agreed to take a position $550 billion in US industries. But many particulars stay imprecise, and Takaichi is anticipated to hunt extra readability.
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She’s additionally introduced in veterans to assist her navigate Washington. Her new cupboard consists of negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, who led current tariff talks, and a number of other former aides from the administration of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, figures who constructed a powerful rapport with Trump.
“It’s a clear message to both domestic and international audiences that she’s trying to carry on Abe’s line of thinking, rather than Kishida’s or Ishiba’s,” mentioned Rintaro Nishimura, a Tokyo-based senior affiliate at The Asia Group, a consulting agency.
Energy can also be anticipated to floor. Japan nonetheless imports about 10% of its liquefied pure gasoline from Russia, a dependency Washington desires to curb. Tokyo has pledged to cut back the reliance, however says an abrupt cutoff may threaten its power safety.
Takaichi’s dealing with of regional relations will even form her success with Trump.
She’s lengthy been recognized for her hardline views: criticizing China’s rising army presence within the area and adopting a conservative and nationalist tone on previous points with South Korea, the place Japan’s historical past of colonialism and wartime sexual slavery nonetheless impacts relations to this present day. Her visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which its nearest neighbors see as an homage to Japan’s previous wartime aggressions, have additionally angered each of these nations.
Yet since taking workplace, she’s hinted at a softer strategy.
At her inaugural information convention as prime minister, she sought to alleviate worries of an anti-South Korea stance, lauding a few of its most famous exports.
“It seems there are various concerns, but I love Korean nori seaweed. I also use Korean cosmetics and watch Korean dramas,” she mentioned. Maintaining optimistic ties with South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung would proceed the lattice-like foreign policy inspired by Washington, one which favors multilateral cooperation amongst like-minded nations over bilateral dependence.
“There’s a growing understanding that Japan-South Korea cooperation is a necessity in this uncertain world,” Nishimura mentioned. “If these two US allies deepen their defense ties, it helps reduce America’s burden in the region.”
Takaichi’s hardest balancing act could also be China.
“Japan is walking a tightrope between the US and China,” mentioned Misako Iwamoto, a Mie University emeritus professor, who focuses on politics and ladies’s research.
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China stays Japan’s largest buying and selling associate. Past leaders, comparable to Yukio Hatoyama in 2009, leaned nearer to Beijing, sparking pushback from Washington.
“But unlike Hatoyama, Takaichi is seen as firmly right-wing,” Iwamoto mentioned. “If she manages to improve ties with China in a way that doesn’t appear anti-American, it might not cause too much friction.”
Both Trump and Takaichi take a hawkish stance on Beijing, notably over Taiwan. Earlier this yr, Takaichi visited the island and known as for “cooperation with Taiwan to jointly address defense challenges.” Beijing condemned the journey as a “dangerous provocation,” warning that Japan was “at a crossroads” below her management.
Even earlier than her election, tensions had been rising between the 2 neighbors. Chinese vessels have stepped up exercise across the disputed Senkaku Islands – generally known as the Diaoyus in China – whereas Japan’s 2022 protection paper formally labeled China its “greatest security threat” for the primary time.
At her first press convention as prime minister, Takaichi vowed to take US-Japan relations to “new heights,” calling the alliance “the cornerstone of Japan’s foreign and security policy.” She ended her speech with a pointed line: “There is no time to stand still.”
She’s proper. Takaichi is diving right into a sea of challenges, from restoring belief at house to discovering Japan’s stability between Washington and Beijing. How she steers by way of them won’t solely outline her premiership however may subtly form the tone and depth of the US-Japan partnership within the years forward.