‘I hear phenomenal things’: Trump lands in Tokyo, will meet Japan's new PM Takaichi
The meeting is a high-stakes test for Sanae Takaichi, who was selected by lawmakers to become Japan’s first woman prime minister earlier this month.
US President Donald Trump arrived in Japan Monday, telling reporters he was excited for his meeting with new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the prospect of completing a joint deal to promote shipbuilding capacity.
“I look forward to meeting the new prime minister. I hear phenomenal things,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew from Malaysia, where he attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.
Trump sidestepped questions about what corporate leaders he planned to meet while in Tokyo or the details of any economic deals, saying simply he planned to announce “great friendship.”
Asked about reports the US and Japan would announce a shipbuilding accord, Trump said the US wanted “more ships.”
“We lost that industry, but we’ll get that industry back,” he said.
The meeting is a high-stakes test for Takaichi, who was selected by lawmakers to become Japan’s first woman prime minister earlier this month.
Her Liberal Democratic Party is recovering from a slush-fund scandal that prompted the resignation of two prime ministers, and she is navigating implementation of a trade deal brokered under her predecessor that includes a nebulous pledge for Japan to fund $550 billion in US projects.
Trump’s trip will begin with a meeting with Japanese Emperor Naruhito on Monday in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
“Looking forward to seeing the Emperor!” Trump wrote on social media shortly before landing. Trump in 2019 became the first foreign leader to meet Naruhito as emperor after his father, Akihito, stepped down, in the first abdication by a Japanese sovereign in centuries.
He’ll meet Takaichi on Tuesday, and the pair are expected to tour the USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, later in the day at the Yokosuka naval base south of Tokyo. On Tuesday night, Trump will hold a dinner with corporate leaders.
