{"id":334833,"date":"2025-10-26T23:16:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T23:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/334833\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T23:16:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T23:16:13","slug":"whats-at-stake-as-trump-meets-japans-takaichi-for-the-1st-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/334833\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s at stake as Trump meets Japan’s Takaichi for the 1st time"},"content":{"rendered":"

TOKYO (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> arrives Monday in Japan where new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi<\/a> is banking on building a friendly personal relationship with the U.S. leader to ease trade tensions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One key to this strategy might lie in an idea floated by Japan\u2019s government to buy a fleet of Ford F-150 trucks, a meaningful gesture that may also be impractical given the narrow streets in Tokyo and other Japanese cities.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

Trump instantly bought into the idea of Ford trucks as he flew to Asia aboard Air Force One.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has good taste,\u201d Trump told reporters. \u201cThat\u2019s a hot truck.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two spoke over the phone while Trump was mid-flight on Saturday. Takaichi stressed her status as a protege of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe<\/a>, a favorite of Trump\u2019s from his first term, and said she praised him for brokering the Gaza ceasefire that led to the return of hostages held by Hamas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought (Trump) is a very cheerful and fun person,\u201d she said. \u201cHe well recognizes me and said he remembers me as a politician whom (former) Prime Minister Abe really cared about,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I told the president that I extremely look forward to welcoming him in Tokyo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Resetting the trade relationship<\/p>\n

Beneath the hospitality is the search for a strategy to navigate the increasingly complex trade relationship that Trump shook up earlier this year<\/a> with tariffs.<\/p>\n

Trump wants allies to buy more American goods and also make financial commitments to build factories and energy infrastructure in the U.S.<\/p>\n

The meetings in a Japan come ahead of Trump\u2019s sit-down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping<\/a> on Thursday in South Korea.<\/p>\n

Both the U.S. and Japan have sought to limit China\u2019s manufacturing ambitions, as the emergence of Chinese electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and advanced computer chips could undermine the American and Japanese economies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn light of the planned meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping shortly afterward, Trump may also be considering how he might strengthen his hand by demonstrating the robustness of the U.S.-Japan relationship,\u201d said Kristi Govella, Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s previous administration agreed in September<\/a> to invest $550 billion in the U.S., which led Trump to trim a threatened 25% tariff<\/a> on Japanese goods to 15%. But Japan wants the investments to favor Japanese vendors and contractors.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s economy and trade minister, Ryosei Akazawa<\/a>, has said his ministry is compiling a list of projects in computer chips and energy to try to meet the investment target. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as I know, I\u2019m hearing that there are a number of Japanese companies that are showing interest,\u201d he told reporters Friday, though he did not give further details.<\/p>\n

Ford trucks in Tokyo would be a powerful symbol<\/p>\n

Japanese officials are looking at the possibility of buying more American soybeans<\/a>, liquefied natural gas and autos.<\/p>\n

For Trump, the prospect of Ford trucks in the skyscrapered streets of Tokyo would be a win. The administration has long complained that American vehicles were being shut out of a market that is the home of Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Isuzu, Mitsubishi and Subaru. In a September interview on CNBC, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Japan wouldn\u2019t buy U.S.-branded vehicles because \u201cChevys\u201d were popular with Japanese gangsters.<\/p>\n

Takaichi may arrange for Ford F-150 trucks to be showcased in a place Trump gets to see them, Japan\u2019s Nikkei newspaper reported. The government is considering importing the trucks for its transport ministry to use for inspecting roads and infrastructure, though there are concerns that the F-150 could cause congestion on narrow Japanese streets. A Ford spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Japanese media have reported that Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda could announce plans to import his company\u2019s American-made cars back to Japan during a dinner with Trump and other business leaders on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

The gestures \u2014 combined with Takaichi\u2019s connection to Abe \u2014 should help her deal with Trump, who seems predisposed to like her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she\u2019s going to be great,\u201d Trump said aboard Air Force One. \u201cShe\u2019s a great friend of Mr. Abe who was a great man.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2016, Abe gave Trump a high-end golf club to celebrate his first election, and the leaders bonded over their love of golf. Trump often expresses sadness about Abe\u2019s 2022 assassination. <\/p>\n

But there are risks for Takaichi in emphasizing her ties to Abe, said Rintaro Nishimura, who specializes in Japan at advisory firm The Asia Group.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it\u2019s Takaichi\u2019s first diplomatic engagement I think she wants to start with sort of a bang,\u201d Nishimura said. \u201cSucceeding the Abe-line rhetoric is definitely going to be part of this engagement, although some also suggest that leaning too heavily on the Abe line might not exactly be good for her for creating her own kind of portfolio, her status as Japan\u2019s leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump lands in Tokyo on Monday, meeting first with Japanese Emperor Naruhito. After meeting with Takaichi on Tuesday, he will give a speech aboard the U.S.S. George Washington aircraft carrier anchored in Japan and then hold a dinner with business leaders. Trump plans to leave for South Korea on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TOKYO (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump arrives Monday in Japan where new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is banking…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":334834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[165773,13214,64,69,57,59915,44361,17785,13790,165775,170,17787,27852,29552,80,145195,165774,17989,67,132,68,93,107,11762],"class_list":{"0":"post-334833","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-akio-toyoda","9":"tag-asia-pacific","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-donald-trump","12":"tag-general-news","13":"tag-george-washington","14":"tag-honda-motor-co","15":"tag-howard-lutnick","16":"tag-international-trade","17":"tag-isuzu-motors-ltd","18":"tag-japan","19":"tag-japan-government","20":"tag-ltd","21":"tag-nissan-motor-co","22":"tag-politics","23":"tag-shinzo-abe","24":"tag-subaru-corp","25":"tag-toyota-motor-corp","26":"tag-united-states","27":"tag-unitedstates","28":"tag-us","29":"tag-washington-news","30":"tag-world-news","31":"tag-xi-jinping"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115443019555632897","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}