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Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hopes to meet U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the United States this month, four sources said, in an attempt to emulate then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's close ties during Trump's first term.
The U.S. is Japan's most important economic and security partner, while Tokyo is a key Washington ally in Asia, providing bases that allow it to keep a large military presence on China's doorstep.
Ishiba told reporters he had held a five-minute phone call with Trump on Thursday morning Japan time and that they agreed to meet as soon as possible.
"I felt that he was very friendly. So from now on, I have the impression that we can talk frankly," he said.
Three of the people familiar with the planning, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Japan was aiming to arrange a meeting between Ishiba and Trump just after a Nov 18-19 summit of the Group of 20 large economies in Brazil. The fourth source said Japan was aiming to arrange the stopover "around" the G20 meeting.
Trump's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ishiba wants to follow the example of Abe, the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after his 2016 election. Abe, who was assassinated in 2022, held the hastily arranged meeting at Trump Tower in New York during a stopover just over a week after that election.
Abe forged a close personal relationship with Trump, including hours on the golf course, which helped defuse several contentious issues between the allies, including defense spending and trade.
Ahead of Tuesday's U.S. election, Japanese officials had been stepping up efforts to rekindle relations with people close to Trump, fearing he might again hit Japan with protectionist trade measures such as tariffs on steel, and revive demands for Tokyo to pay more toward the cost of stationing U.S. forces in the country if he returned to office.
Trump has said a decades-old bilateral security treaty is unfair because it commits the United States to defend Japan but does not put similar obligations on Tokyo.
"If Trump says something like Japan is not pulling its weight in the alliance and dealing with not just China but also North Korea, then you could see a movement toward changing that alliance," said Derek Grossman, senior defense analyst at RAND.
Asked about the troop costs on Thursday, Ishiba said he and Trump did not discuss it in their call. "Rather than focus on monetary amounts, we would like to vigorously discuss the strengthening of the Japan-U.S. alliance from various perspectives," he said.
Former U.S. official Michael Green said Trump "approaches every problem beginning with the question of what is in it for him. That makes allies nervous".
People around Trump, such as William Hagerty, ambassador to Japan during his first term and now a U.S. senator from Tennessee, could play a pivotal role in managing the Japan-U.S. alliance, said Green, who heads the U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.
But unlike Abe, who led a stable administration as Japan's longest-serving prime minister, Ishiba heads a coalition that lost its parliamentary majority in an election late last month.
"Given the instability in Tokyo right now, I am not sure Ishiba enjoys these same things that enabled Abe to succeed," said Kevin Maher, a consultant who previously headed the U.S. State Department's Office of Japan Affairs. "He was the right person at the right time."
© Thomson Reuters 2024
19 Comments
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kurisupisu
PM Ishiba has soon to be fielding so many phone calls from Japanese CEOs.
PM Ishiba had better put on his best negotiating hat as Japan is not presently in a position to receive favored treatment, as was the case when Abe was around.
Japanese Inc must now be scrambling to set up
production in the US.
Legrande
Yes Ishiba set up an appointment ASAP.
dagon
dagon
Maybe Ishiba could demonstrate his fealty by the most epic seep bow when meeting Trump?
I have a feeling he would appreciate it.
voiceofokinawa
Misconceiving that the U.S. forces are stationed in Japan (Okinawa in particular) for Japan's protection and security, Trump will certainly demand Japan to share more of the cost of operating USFJ bases here.
In that case, Japan can tell Trump to reduce the U.S. bases or to completely withdraw them from Japan. The construction of the Henoko new base will be a case in point.
The catch is that Ishiba's LDP government also believes U.S. forces are deployed to Japan for its protection. And so, the LDP government will comply to Trump's demand all across the board.
dagon
Maybe Ishiba could demonstrate his fealty by the most epic deep bow when meeting Trump?
I have a feeling he would appreciate it.
My kingdom for an edit button right?
JJE
This guy will be on a jet to PBI faster than the Daytona.
He'd better bring a tribute.
Chico3
Trump will just continue to throw more food to the fish.
smithinjapan
I hope he's prepared to be one of the last calls, since Trump knows Japan is waiting and he can keep them waiting. He'll call everyone from Putin to Xi first, and like last time Japanese will complain about being 13th or whatever it was last time. Trump knows his lapdog is waiting.
quercetum
Trump certainly deserves the congratulatory remarks form Ishiba. It is certainly a joy to see the seething writhing villains, his enemies, the opponents of democracy who tried to take his life. Against all odds. Great victory!
Cephus
"Ishiba congratulates Trump on election victory; hopes to meet him soon."
If you play golf, you will get along very well just like PM Abe, May God Bless his soul.
Aly Rustom
Ishiba agrees during phone talks with Trump to meet soon
Well of course he does. What else is he going to do or say?
TaiwanIsNotChina
Better get the expensive suite and the chocolate cake if you want to avoid a trade war.
Andy
The latest Japanese PM Ishiba, needs to grovel well to his new puppet master.
deanzaZZR
Two way trade with China is much higher in volume.
Fly vast distance to pay homage to the new security boss, same as the old boss.
rcch
“ Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hopes to meet U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the United States this month, … “
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Good luck to the leaders of these two great nations ( —*but I have a feeling Ishiba’s tenure as PM will be short—I’m already waiting for someone else to take his place (maybe Sanae Takaichi is still interested?)* ).
grc
Run to daddy
OssanAmerica
LOL. The very first Japanese factory in the US was opened by Bridgestone Tire in 1967. Today over 4,600 Japanese companies operate in the United States, with a significant number of them running manufacturing facilities. Japanese firms collectively employ more than 930,000 people in the U.S., making Japan the largest foreign employer in the American manufacturing sector.
The concern among Japanese companies with respect to Trump are their auto plants in Mexico which may face promised high tariffs to sell in the US. But the three big US automakers are in exactly the same situation with their Mexican production.
OssanAmerica
Shigeru Ishiba is not Shinzo Abe who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Just like Trump. He can't emulate Abe. He needs to sell Japan on it's own merits, and for Trump that means economics. Trump has not shown that he has the intellectual capacity and interest to prioritize geopolitics.