JAPANESE Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s first in-person meeting with US President Donald Trump ended without friction or conflicting remarks, potentially offering valuable insights for other world leaders navigating his vision for a new America.
Among the various topics discussed, bilateral economic cooperation aligned with Trump’s priorities was arguably central to their hours-long talks, carefully orchestrated by Japanese officials.
Ishiba’s pledge to increase Japan’s investment in the United States from about $800 billion to $1 trillion and boost liquefied natural gas purchases from the world’s largest economy marked his initial effort to curry favor with Trump before building a personal relationship.
More importantly, Japan’s apparent strategy of keeping the focus on economic issues helped minimize the risk of disrupting the trajectory of the Tokyo-Washington alliance, which remains as strong as ever. In a symbolic move, a joint statement issued by Ishiba and Trump after their summit in Washington on Friday began with the first sentence declaring their agreement to pursue a “new golden age” in Japan-US relations.
At a joint press conference with Ishiba, Trump looked especially pleased to announce that Japan will begin importing US LNG in “record numbers,” and the two countries will explore a joint venture of some type that has to do with Alaska oil and gas. “That’s very exciting,” Trump said.
“As we deepen our economic relationship, I made clear that the United States will be conducting trade with all countries based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity.” Trump expressed his strong desire to slash the US trade deficit with Japan, but his tone was largely optimistic.
Kyodo
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