Japanese PM says he will have ‘frank’ Trump discussions

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said yesterday he would hold “frank discussions” with newly elected US President Donald Trump, saying cooperation between them was crucial to ensure a “free and open Pacific”.

“I will have frank discussions with the new President Trump and lead the alliance to new heights,” Ishiba said in parliament in a major policy speech. “Of course the US has its own national interest and Japan has its own national interest. That is why I believe that honestly exchanging views and synergistically strengthening the national interests of both countries will help realize a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Beijing has shown increasingly assertive behavior in territorial disputes in the Asia-Pacific region, including around Taiwan.

Photo: AFP

Tokyo is also alarmed by nuclear-armed North Korea’s expansion of its missile activities. Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his first term.

Ishiba, a self-confessed defense nerd, has called for the creation of an Asian NATO, on the principle that an attack on one is an attack on all.

“The Japan-US security alliance is the foundation of Japan’s diplomacy and security,” Ishiba said. “At the same time, however, the United States receives major strategic benefits from the existence of facilities and areas (controlled by) U.S. forces in Japan.”

During Trump’s first term, then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared to have warm personal relations with the US president, playing golf together several times.

Ishiba and the US president-elect had what Japan’s prime minister called a “very friendly” phone conversation after Trump’s election victory earlier this month.

Key allies Japan and the US are each other’s largest foreign investors, and 54,000 US military personnel are stationed in Japan, mainly in Okinawa, east of Taiwan.

Japan has abandoned its strict pacifist attitude and has started looking for opportunities for ‘counter-attacks’.

US President Joe Biden and Ishiba’s predecessor, former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, announced a “new era” in defense in April.

Japan is already doubling its military spending to the NATO standard of 2 percent of GDP, but Trump’s “America First” approach could mean he could provide less money in his second term and put pressure on Japan to do more.

Trump also sparked panic among some of America’s biggest trading partners on Monday when he said he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on Mexican and Canadian imports, and 10 percent on goods from China.

Many Japanese exporters, including automakers Toyota and Honda, have factories in Mexico and Canada. Shares of both companies fell sharply this week.

Japanese government officials have declined to comment on Trump’s tariff threats, and Ishiba did not directly address the issue yesterday, but Masakazu Tokura, chairman of Japan’s most influential business organization Keidanren, said Tuesday that the impact on Japanese companies is “huge.” could be. ”

Trump could also pressure Japan to join expanded U.S. efforts to limit exports to China, such as semiconductor equipment and artificial intelligence chips, which could hurt Japanese companies.