Ishiba, Trump Expected to Hold 1st Summit Talks on Friday; Looking to Strengthen Cooperation in Japan-U.S. Alliance

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:58 JST, February 1, 2025

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to have their first summit talks in Washington on Friday, according to Japanese government sources.

Ishiba hopes to build trust between the two leaders and reaffirm the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance. The Japanese government will work toward issuing a joint statement that includes such topics as strengthening the alliance, the sources said.

Japan is expected to be the second country, after Israel, to hold a face-to-face meeting with Trump under his new administration.

Ishiba plans to meet Trump at the White House during his visit to the United States from Thursday through Saturday.

Ishiba hopes to share with Trump an understanding that Japan, the United States and other like-minded countries need to work together to counter China’s increasingly hegemonic behavior, as well as North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

The prime minister plans to explain Japan’s efforts to strengthen its defense capabilities and the scale of investment by Japanese companies in the United States, which is highly effective in creating jobs. He is also considering a proposal to increase energy imports from the United States, they said.

By preparing to issue a joint statement that specifies the promotion of cooperation in the fields of security and the economy, Tokyo plans to accelerate talks with Washington.

Japan hopes to include the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in the joint statement, as well as that Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, which obliges the United States to defend Japan, applies to the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.

“I’d like to discuss [with Trump] how we can build a new type of alliance that meets the national interests of both countries,” Ishiba said at a House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting Friday. “I want to take the Japan-U.S. alliance to new heights.”

Ishiba sought to meet with Trump before he took office in November and January, but no meetings took place.