Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and US President Donald Trump are holding their first-ever summit talks in Tokyo, officials said on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump has signed a rare earths deal with Japan's newly elected Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi. In a meeting that has been an early test for Takaichi, the two leaders heralded a new 'golden age' for the alliance between their countries.
Japanese exports to the US will now face 15 per cent tariffs, which were agreed previously but only finalised on Tuesday. This is Trump’s first visit to Japan since assuming office for the second time in January, while Takaichi is also the first-ever female prime minister to host a US president on Japanese soil.
She welcomed Trump at the State Guest House at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday morning. They received a salute from a ceremonial guard of honour with Japan's Self-Defence Force. Trump is also set to visit the US naval base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo. Arrangements are underway for Takaichi to accompany the president aboard Marine One to the base. Trump will deliver a speech there aboard an aircraft carrier.
Ahead of the meeting on Tuesday morning, Takaichi, in her post on X, wrote, “Looking forward to 'having a fruitful discussion on how we can further strengthen our great alliance.'"
She will also discuss the plan regarding how Tokyo plans to take radical steps to enhance the nation’s defence capabilities. Trump has often complained about the insufficient support from the partner countries over their lack of defence spending. He demanded that each nation under the US defence umbrella must increase its spending from two per cent to five per cent.
Japan had been aiming to increase defence spending and related expenditures to two per cent of the GDP in fiscal 2027. Takaichi will likely tell Trump that Japan will instead achieve that goal in the current fiscal year.
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