President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae praised each other in glowing terms on Tuesday, and Trump cemented the friendship by signing major deals on trade and rare earth minerals.
Trump brought Takaichi with him to visit U.S. troops aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, and she literally jumped for joy when he brought her onstage and introduced her as a “winner,” to raucous applause:
The president provided the troops with an impromptu clinic in the subtle art of the Trump Dance:
Takaichi posted an amazing photo of herself with Trump aboard the helicopter flight, embracing Trump as her “wonderful ally and friend”:
“Everything I know from Shinzo and others, you will be one of the great prime ministers,” Trump told Takaichi when they met at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, referring to her mentor and Trump’s friend, the late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.
“I’d also like to congratulate you on being the first woman prime minister. It’s a big deal,” Trump said.
“Any time you have any question, any doubt, anything you want, any favors that you need, anything I can do to help Japan, we will be there. We are an ally at the strongest level,” he told Takaichi.
Takaichi presented Trump with the putter used by Abe, displayed in a glass case along with a gold-leaf golf ball and a golf bag signed by Japanese champion Matsuyama Hideki. The new prime minister said she is not a golf enthusiast herself, but she and Trump watched a little baseball together before kicking off their busy schedule of events on Tuesday.
Takaishi also gifted Trump with a set of ball caps – his signature headwear – emblazoned with the slogan “Japan Is Back,” a slogan from Abe’s campaign for prime minister.
Abe was close friends with Trump and the two frequently golfed together. Abe was assassinated in July 2022, after he left office. The trial of the man who shot him, 45-year-old Yamagami Tetsuya, began on Tuesday in the western Japanese city of Nara, which happens to be Prime Minister Takaichi’s hometown. Trump and Takaichi shared a lunch of rice and beef from Nara on Tuesday.
Trump and Takaichi got some serious work done on Tuesday in addition to nourishing their friendship. The two signed a deal to work together on supplies of critical minerals and rare earths, in a bid to break China’s tight grip on those vital supply chains.
Takaichi and Trump produced a list of other joint projects in fields such as energy and artificial intelligence, which the White House said could lead to some $400 billion in Japanese investments in the United States. Trump said Japanese auto giant Toyota was planning to spend $10 billion on auto plants in the United States, although the company did not immediately confirm that plan.
According to the White House, Takaichi privately told Trump during their meeting in Tokyo that she would nominate him for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. She publicly praised his “unwavering commitment to world peace and stability” during their appearances together on Tuesday.
