US President Donald Trump will visit Japan from October 27 to 29 and hold talks with new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Japanese Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Wednesday.
“President Trump’s visit will provide an extremely important opportunity to further strengthen the US-Japan alliance,” Kihara said, according to Kyodo.
He expressed hope that Trump’s trip would establish a personal relationship of trust between him and Prime Minister Takaichi and ensure the joint implementation of the concept of a “free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
According to Kyodo sources, Takaichi plans to discuss with Trump a joint response by Japan and the US to the growth of China’s military presence in the East China Sea and South China Sea, as well as North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. Other topics will include US-Japan trade, the investment agreement signed last July, and Japan’s defense spending.
Trump is expected to meet with Emperor Naruhito of Japan on Monday, with Takaichi on Tuesday, and to visit the US naval base in Yokosuka.
Trump last visited Japan in 2019. This time, before traveling to Tokyo, Trump is expected to attend the ASEAN summit in Malaysia and then head to the APEC summit in South Korea, where he may meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In turn, Japan’s new Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said he would coordinate with Washington on the implementation of the US-Japan trade agreement, under which goods from Japan are subject to a 15% tariff.
The Japanese parliament elected Takaichi, the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as the country’s prime minister the day before.
According to Kyodo, 64-year-old Takaichi is known for her “hardline views on security.” The former interior minister advocates, in particular, revising Article 9 of the 1947 Japanese constitution, which renounces militarism.
Takai is considered a supporter of far-right and nationalist views and is a member of Japan’s largest conservative and nationalist non-governmental organization and lobbying group, Nippon Kaigi. She is vice-chair of the parliamentary conference on the restoration of Shinto shrines and the promotion of moral education. She has repeatedly visited the Yasukuni Shinto shrine, a symbol of Japanese militarism: visits by high-ranking Japanese officials to the Yasukuni shrine traditionally provoke a sharp reaction in Beijing, Seoul, and Pyongyang and are seen as an insult to countries that suffered from Japanese occupation. She has also been critical of China’s economic policies and has advocated for reducing economic dependence on China.
