By Jeff Mason, Alastair Gale and Catherine Lucey
Tensions between the US and Japan over the Iran war remained evident as President Donald Trump hosted Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, even as he said Tokyo was answering his call for support in the effort.
The visit was bound to be fraught as it was unclear what steps Japan was willing to immediately take to help alleviate the economic and security consequences of the war, which remains deeply unpopular in Japan. Joining an armed conflict is legally questionable under the country’s constitution.
“They are really stepping up to the plate,” unlike Nato allies, Trump said Thursday at the White House alongside Takaichi. “We’ve had tremendous support and relationship with Japan on everything.”
Still, the uncomfortable circumstances were on full display when a reporter asked Trump why the US hadn’t informed Japan and European allies in advance of his strike on Iran.
Takaichi didn’t treat that as a laugh line, instead pursing her lips and casting glances to her advisers seated to the side in the Oval Office. The line was remarkable both because it raised the World War II-era Japanese attack on the US and because it underscored Trump’s cavalier attitude toward informing allies of major military operations.
After Trump’s reference to the Pearl Harbor attack, a Japanese foreign ministry official said the subject didn’t come up in closed-door talks between the leaders. He added that while Japan had anticipated some surprises from Trump, that one was not expected.
The incident also was the latest instance of a foreign leader being put on the back foot in a White House meeting with Trump, who has looked to leverage those opportunities to extract concessions or criticise their policies as counter to US interests.
“We don’t need anything from Japan or anyone else, but I think it’s appropriate that they step up,” Trump said.
“I expect Japan to step up because we have that kind of relationship,” he added, noting that some 45,000 US soldiers are based there. “We spend a lot of money on Japan.”
Oil Imports
At a press conference after meeting with Trump, Takaichi told reporters she had explained to the US president the legal limits to Japan’s involvement in securing the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, she highlighted areas of agreement, including a pledge to import more oil from the US and to cooperate on missile development.
Japan has tried to use its diplomatic ties to Iran to influence events. On Tuesday, Japan’s foreign minister called his Iranian counterpart and condemned the Islamic Republic’s attacks around the Gulf region, according to the ministry.
During her public event with Trump, Takaichi otherwise appeared stoic and repeatedly offered support to the US president, thanking him for an unwavering commitment to the US-Japan alliance.
Takaichi said she’d brought to the US concrete proposals to help calm energy markets even as she forecast more pain for the global economy. She condemned Iranian strikes in neighboring countries and Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Takaichi, who has enjoyed a warm relationship with Trump, is a vocal supporter of the alliance between the two countries. But she also has to balance public opposition to the war at home and stringent domestic legal restrictions on deploying the nation’s military.
Trump lashed out at allies on Tuesday, singling out NATO in particular and naming Japan, Australia, and South Korea, saying the US no longer needed their assistance in the Iran conflict that’s shown “such Military Success.”
“WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!” Trump said in a social media post.
Following that missive, Takaichi said she faced an “extremely difficult” meeting with Trump. She has said Japan might be able to help after a ceasefire is reached by dispatching minesweepers or other actions.
Japan is particularly vulnerable to the spike in energy prices, which threatens to push up daily living costs for its residents. The country imports more than 90% of its crude oil from the Middle East.
The meeting between Trump and Takaichi has been seen by the Japanese as an opportunity to showcase the strength of the US-Japan relationship. Trump has repeatedly praised Takaichi, who won a sweeping mandate from voters in a landslide election in February, and said Thursday that she was doing a “great job.”
The US has backed her plans to boost Japan’s military to help counter China’s growing power. In remarks before hosting Takaichi at a White House dinner, Trump praised Japan for buying US defense equipment.
Energy Deals
The White House visit also is an opportunity for the two countries to strengthen economic ties, with a focus on projects to be funded by a $550 billion investment fund established last year as part of a US-Japan tariff truce.
The countries reached a deal for GE Vernova Inc. and Hitachi Ltd. to build small modular nuclear reactors in Tennessee and Alabama at a cost of as much as $40 billion, according to documents provided by Japan’s foreign ministry. The US and Japan also agreed on a project for natural gas generation facilities in Pennsylvania valued at as much as $17 billion, and similar facilities in Texas for around $16 billion.
Japan last month announced a combined $36 billion investment for a US oil export terminal, gas power plant and synthetic diamond manufacturing facility. The two leaders are also expected to talk about energy, supply chains, regional security issues and bilateral cooperation in science, technology, and defense.
China also loomed large over the Takaichi visit. Trump on Thursday repeated that his visit to Beijing originally set for the end of the month had been postponed for “about a month and a half” so that he can remain in Washington to focus on the war.
Trump said he would praise Japan in meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Tokyo relies on US military power under a mutual security treaty to deter China and North Korea.
Tensions between Japan and China have escalated in recent weeks after Takaichi suggested that Tokyo might come to the aid of Taiwan — the self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its own — in the event of a conflict. Beijing has responded with travel warnings and export controls targeting Japan.
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