{"id":27583,"date":"2026-03-20T02:24:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T02:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/27583\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T02:24:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T02:24:11","slug":"japans-takaichi-tries-to-reaffirm-alliance-with-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/27583\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan’s Takaichi tries to reaffirm alliance with Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi<\/a> sought to reaffirm her alliance with President Donald Trump<\/a> on Thursday after the president this week seemed to complain that Japan was among the nations that did not quickly join his call to help protect the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Takaichi, who met with Trump at the White House, told the Republican president that Japan has opposed Iran\u2019s development of its nuclear program and appealed to his desire to be seen as a peacemaker<\/a>, despite his launching a war of choice with Iran<\/a>. She told the U.S. president through an interpreter that in the Middle East and around the world now, there was \u201ca very severe security environment,\u201d but said, \u201cEven against that backdrop, I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two leaders had warm words<\/a> for each other, including Trump calling the prime minister a \u201cpopular, powerful woman,\u201d but there appeared to be some tension as they faced repeated questions from reporters about Japan\u2019s support for the Iran war. <\/p>\n

As Trump fielded questions during the roughly 30-minute public appearance with the prime minister in the Oval Office before their closed-door meeting, Taikaichi could be seen checking her watch. And then Trump made a particularly uncomfortable remark \u2014 invoking Japan\u2019s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor \u2014 when he was asked why the U.S. didn\u2019t notify allies like Japan ahead of the strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn\u2019t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK?\u201d Trump joked.<\/p>\n

As Trump said that, Takaichi\u2019s slight smile appeared to drop, and she raised her eyebrows. <\/p>\n

But the pair were all smiles in the evening, as Trump hosted a dinner in the prime minister\u2019s office. \u201cThis is a spectacular woman, and it\u2019s an honor to have you at the White House,\u201d Trump said. Taikaichi referred to the leaders through an interpreter as \u201cbest buddies\u201d before declaring, in English, \u201cJapan is back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier Thursday, the leaders of five European countries and Japan issued a joint statement demanding that Iran stop attacks on the Strait of Hormuz that block commercial shipping, and said they are ready to contribute to \u201cappropriate efforts\u201d to ensure ships can pass safely through the strait, though it is not clear what that entails. <\/p>\n

Trump told reporters that he and Takaichi would be discussing in their meeting Japan\u2019s level of support for the U.S. in the Iran war, saying, \u201cThey are really stepping up to the plate.\u201d He did not offer details.<\/p>\n

The president later said that much of the oil Japan relies on passes through the Strait of Hormuz and said, \u201cso that\u2019s a big reason to step up. He also mentioned U.S. spending in Japan and the number of troops it has stationed there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect Japan to step up, you know, because we have that kind of relationship,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

After her meeting with Trump, Takaichi told reporters that they agreed that ensuring the safety of the Strait of Hormuz was of the utmost importance, but she gave Trump a detailed explanation of the actions Japan can and cannot take under its law. <\/p>\n

A nuclear reactor deal is signed<\/p>\n

Taikaichi\u2019s White House visit was supposed to give Japan\u2019s new prime minister a prime opportunity to have Trump\u2019s ear before he embarked on a trip to China.<\/p>\n

But now, the war in Iran and Trump\u2019s call for Japan and other nations<\/a> to help protect the vital Strait of Hormuz means the China trip has been delayed<\/a>. Trump had repeatedly complained on camera and online this week that U.S. allies, including Japan, did not heed his request<\/a> to help safeguard the critical waterway for oil and gas transport. He later declared the help wasn\u2019t needed, but made other comments indicating he still expected help. <\/p>\n

The prime minister acknowledged before she left Japan that she expected her meeting with Trump would be \u201cvery difficult.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Beyond facing questions about Iran, Takaichi and Trump on Thursday signed a $40 billion nuclear reactor deal, the White House said. <\/p>\n

Under it, U.S.-based GE Vernova Inc. and Japan-based Hitachi Ltd. are set to build advanced small modular reactors in Tennessee and Alabama. The deal aims to help stabilize electricity prices and expand power generation in the U.S.<\/p>\n

The meeting carried high stakes<\/p>\n

Kurt Campbell, the former U.S. deputy secretary of state in the Biden administration and now chair of The Asia Group, said that to press for Japan\u2019s interests, Takaichi needed to find a way to suggest that Japan is part of the U.S. plan in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s going to want to come out of that as a partner in this case and realize that if she can do that, that she can translate that potentially into the president listening more to Japanese concerns about Taiwan or other issues,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

The constraints on Japan\u2019s involvement in Iran include a provision in its post-World War II constitution that bans the use of force<\/a> except to defend its territory. The country\u2019s military is called the Self-Defense Force.<\/p>\n

Christopher Johnstone, a partner and chair of the defense and national security practice at The Asia Group, said Japan could help with minesweeping and has had \u201ca small naval presence\u201d in the region as part of an anti-piracy mission for at least a decade. But to join the U.S. mission would require Takaichi to clear \u201can exceptionally high bar politically to invoke collective self-defense\u201d that has never been done before.<\/p>\n

Takaichi wanted to focus on trade and security in the Indo-Pacific region<\/p>\n

Takaichi, who had her first meeting with Trump<\/a> in October in Tokyo, is Japan\u2019s first female prime minister and a prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of former leader Shinzo Abe, who developed a close relationship with Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She is also a hard-line conservative and longtime supporter of Taiwan, whose comments about Japan\u2019s willingness to provide military support to the island have heightened tensions with China<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Takaichi said between her Oval Office meeting and the dinner that she and Trump discussed deepening U.S.-Japanese cooperation in regional security, critical minerals, energy and dealing with China.<\/p>\n

China views self-governed Taiwan<\/a>, which the U.S. relies on for its production of computer chips, as its sovereign territory and has said it would take it by force if needed.<\/p>\n

But the Strait of Hormuz aside, the global implications of the Iran war have also put the Japanese leader in a tougher spot with Trump as she seeks to ensure U.S. commitment to the Indo-Pacific region.<\/p>\n

Japan considers China a growing security threat<\/a> and has pushed a military buildup on southwestern islands near the East China Sea. But the U.S. has shifted some troops<\/a> stationed in Japan to the Middle East, removing a check against China\u2019s power.<\/p>\n

Those troop shifts came at the same time China is launching a large number of exercises around Taiwan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis raises the prospect that \u2014 once again \u2014 the United States will be distracted and bogged down in the Middle East at a time when the deterrence problem in East Asia has never been greater,\u201d Johnstone said.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sought to reaffirm her alliance with President Donald Trump on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[28],"tags":[10317,9749,325,178,328,12610,989,38,777,197,102,34,196,389,11479,2751,12609,81,9849,12611,101,1379,1385,771,82],"class_list":["post-27583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-strait-of-hormuz","tag-al-state-wire","tag-alabama","tag-ap-top-news","tag-asia-pacific","tag-business","tag-christopher-johnstone","tag-diplomacy","tag-donald-trump","tag-energy-industry","tag-general-news","tag-hormuz","tag-iran","tag-iran-war","tag-japan","tag-japan-government","tag-journalism","tag-kurt-campbell","tag-politics","tag-sanae-takaichi","tag-shinzo-abe","tag-strait-of-hormuz","tag-tennessee","tag-tn-state-wire","tag-washington-news","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116259131405107361","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}