US president Donald Trump heaped praise on Japan’s first female leader Sanae Takaichi and said the Asian nation will become a U.S. “ally at the strongest level” as he signed deals on rare earths and trade.
The meeting with the US president marked a high-stakes test of diplomacy for Takaichi, coming just weeks after she made history as Japan’s first woman prime minister.
“Everything I know from Shinzo and others, you will be one of the great prime ministers,” Trump told Takaichi as they sat down to discussions accompanied by aides at Tokyo’s Akasaka Palace. Becoming Japan’s first female prime minister was “a big deal”, Trump added. He was referring to Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe who was assassinated in 2022.
Trump and Takaichi declared a “new golden age of the U.S.-Japan alliance” as they signed an agreement to bolster supplies of critical minerals and rare earths.
Both governments released a list of projects in the areas of energy, artificial intelligence and critical minerals in which Japanese companies are eyeing investments of up to $400bn in the U.S.
Tokyo pledged to provide $550bn of strategic U.S. investments, loans and guarantees earlier this year as part of a deal to win a reprieve from Trump’s punishing import tariffs.
Trump hoped that the two sides had resolved their trade differences.
“I want to just let you know anytime you have any questions, any doubt, anything you want, any favors you need, anything I can do to help Japan, we will be there,” Trump said. “We are an ally at the strongest level.”
“We’re going to do tremendous trade together, I think, more than ever before,” Trump said, adding that the ties between Tokyo and Washington would be “stronger than ever before.”
The two agreements signed by the countries were loosely defined, and there was little discussion or progress on the details of the broader trade deal they reached in July to avert Trump’s steep tariffs.
The two leaders emphasized their shared bond with Abe. Takaichi is a protege of Trump’s late friend and golfing buddy Abe.
Takaichi repeatedly referred to Abe’s affection for Trump and applauded his push to resolve global conflicts, including his role in promoting peace in the Middle East.
She presented Trump with a golf bag signed by Japanese professional golfer Hideki Matsuyama, and a putter once owned by Abe. Over a lunch of U.S. rice and beef, and vegetables from Takaichi’s hometown of Nara, she presented Trump with a map of major investments Japanese firms have made in the United States since his last visit in 2009.
“I would like to realise a new golden age of the Japan-U.S. alliance, where both Japan and the United States will become stronger and also more prosperous,” Takaichi said.
The two nations agreed to work together through a mix of policy measures, trade initiatives and coordinated investments aimed at boosting the production of critical minerals.
The U.S. has been racing to ramp up efforts to diversify its sources of these vital resources and lessen its dependence on China, which dominates global mineral processing and has recently tightened export controls.
In recent days, Washington has signed a string of rare earth agreements with Malaysia, Thailand and Australia – part of a broader push to secure materials essential for electronics, electric vehicles and military technology.
Japan, meanwhile, holds significant reserves of rare earths, though much of it lies beneath the ocean floor, posing major challenges for extraction.
Later in the day, Trump, accompanied by Takaichi, disembarked from Marine One that landed on the USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier currently docked in Japan. Aboard the USS George Washington, Trump addressed thousands of U.S. troops, praising the U.S.-Japan alliance as one “born out of the ashes” of the Second World War.
From the same podium, the Japanese leader said Japan has been facing an “unprecedented severe security environment”.
“Peace cannot be preserved by words alone,” she said. “It can only be protected when there is an unwavering determination and action.”
In a foreign ministry briefing on Tuesday, China called on Japan to “earnestly respect the security concerns of its neighbours” after the U.S. and Japan put their ties on display.
“We urge Japan to earnestly respect the security concerns of its neighbors, deeply reflect on its history of aggression, adhere to the path of peaceful development, and win the trust of its Asian neighbours and the international community through concrete actions,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.
It came after Japanese prime minister’s office said Trump and Takaichi “agreed to strongly advocate” a “free and open Indo-Pacific”.
The phrase “free and open Indo-Pacific” was first introduced in 2016 by Takaichi’s political mentor Abe, as a direct counter to China’s regional ambitions. It went on to become a pillar of Japan’s foreign policy and was later adopted by successive US administrations.
Mr Trump is on the second leg of his week-long tour of Asia after visiting Malaysia, where he attended the ASEAN summit. He will cap off his longest overseas journey since returning to the White House in South Korea where he hopes to meet Chinese president Xi Jinping.
