Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba went into his first summit meeting with US President Donald Trump amid concerns in Tokyo that Japan could be next in the firing line of US allies after Canada and others.
Instead, the Japanese leader flew home having appeared to strike up a warm relationship with Trump and averted any new specific demands from him, even as the president proceeds with tariff threats against his trade partners including a blanket 25% levy on all steel and aluminum imports.
“I do think we have chemistry,” said Ishiba on Sunday, following his return to Japan.
Ishiba’s playbook for dealing with Trump appeared to focus on what Japan can do for the US. With that goal in mind, he promised to buy more energy from the US while ramping up investment there to help create more jobs.
The prime minister’s 24-hour whirlwind visit to Washington DC even resulted in the potential dislodging of a thorn in the side of US-Japan ties after Trump said he’s excited about Nippon Steel making a major investment in US Steel, instead of purchasing it outright.
Trump reiterated on Sunday his opposition to a proposed buyout of the iconic US company, saying that the Japanese steel company can’t have a majority stake. His predecessor Joe Biden already blocked the deal.
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By highlighting what Japan could do to help Trump’s “America First” agenda, Ishiba offered a template for other countries to deal with Trump’s transactional nature, said Yuka Hayashi, a vice president of the Asia Group, a consultancy.
Ishiba’s praise of Trump for everything from surviving an assassination attempt, removing restrictions on US fossil fuel extraction and spurring Japan’s moves to invest more in its military contributed to a summit that exceeded expectations, Hayashi said.
“Ishiba hit a home run,” she said.
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The prime minister appeared to show deference to Trump’s concerns over US Steel on Sunday, saying on a TV broadcast that “it’s very important from the president’s perspective that it remains an American company and produces high-quality products”.
When asked about the risk of additional tariffs, Ishiba said “there’s no way a relationship based on one side exploiting the other will last”.
“I’m not so sure there are any issues between Japan and the US that would call for a hike in tariffs,” he added.
Japanese government officials said planning for the summit looked at areas in which Tokyo’s interests intersected with Trump’s priorities. One relatively easy win was in energy policy. Japan imports almost all its energy and Trump has pledged to unleash America’s untapped energy reserves.
During the summit, Japan said it would import more LNG from the US and also expressed interest in cooperating in an ambitious project to deliver LNG through a pipeline from northern Alaska. Details of what Japan would contribute remain vague, but at the press conference Trump celebrated the agreement as a breakthrough that couldn’t have happened under Biden.
Prior to the summit, Ishiba consulted with previous prime ministers about US-Japan relations, and in the opening exchanges with Trump in the Oval Office, Ishiba mixed praise for the US leader with details about new Japanese investment in the US, including new and upgraded auto plants from Isuzu Motors and Toyota Motor.
American and Japanese interests also closely align when it comes to concerns about China’s growing military power. One of the top goals for the Washington summit for Japan was to confirm the US commitment to their security alliance, which was made clear by Trump and in a joint statement referring to an “unshakable commitment” by the US to defend Japan.
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The leaders reaffirmed that a group of islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan but also claimed by China are covered by the US-Japan defense treaty, anchoring the US security presence in the region as Beijing expands its maritime ambitions.
Throughout the events, the prime minister never appeared uncomfortable, even when Trump said tariffs could be an option if Japan continues to run a trade surplus with the US. The Japanese leader’s slow, deadpan delivery didn’t appear to make exchanges awkward, with Trump heaping praise on Ishiba, who has been national leader for just over four months.
“I think that he is going to be a great prime minister. I think he’s a very strong man, very, very strong. I have great respect for him,” Trump said.
Ishiba even prompted a smile from Trump and laughs from US officials when he was asked by a journalist if Japan would consider retaliation if the US imposed new tariffs on Japan. “Well, as we always say in official situations, I can’t answer a hypothetical question,” Ishiba said.
Kurt Tong, a former deputy head of mission of the US embassy in Tokyo who is now managing partner at the Asia Group, said the summit helped provide a road map for how other US friends and allies might approach the US under Trump.
“Clearly the Japanese side adjusted their approach to Trump’s style and policies,” he said.
