Singapore: US President Donald Trump has reserved some of his highest praise for the leaders of the world’s strongmen. So it was a good sign for Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, that Trump was already effusive with praise before their first meeting Tuesday morning, saying he had heard “phenomenal things” about her.
With the red carpet rolled out at Tokyo’s Akasaka Palace, a fleet of American cars parked out front, and Takaichi’s promise to accelerate the country’s defense spending to gilt Trump’s arrival, Japan pulled off the kind of diplomatic coup that has defeated other nations: securing adulation, however superficial, where others have been scorned and humiliated.
President Donald Trump (left) and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shake hands during a signing ceremony at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo.Credit: AP
“I just want to let you know that whenever you have any questions, any concerns, anything you want, any favors you need, anything you can do to help Japan, we will be there. We are an ally at the strongest level,” Trump told Takaichi.
Of course, this was Trump on foreign soil, where even he has not deviated from the norms of dignity and respect for the host. Nevertheless, it was as strong an endorsement as Takaichi could have hoped for. Trump celebrated her by saying she was on the verge of becoming “one of the best” prime ministers, adding that the late Japanese leader Shinzo Abe would be happy to see her in the top job.
Trump’s initial fondness for Takaichi, an ultraconservative national security hawk who has called herself Japan’s “Iron Lady” and Abe protégé, owes much to his closeness to the former prime minister.
In his first term, Trump found a kindred spirit in Abe, and the two bonded over golf and formed a genuine friendship before he was assassinated in 2022. “He was one of my favorites,” Trump said earlier this week.
Takaichi also leaned into flattery when they greeted each other Tuesday, praising the U.S. president for his efforts to bring peace between Thailand and Cambodia and in the Middle East.
“I myself am very impressed and inspired by you, Mr. President,” she said.
