Japan received more than enough assurances that it was still the United States’ most important friend and ally in the increasingly uncertain Asia-Pacific region.
However, what was remarkable about the White House meeting between Trump and Ishiba was what did not occur.
This was neither contentious or hostile, in contrast to the majority of Trump’s domestic and international interactions to far.
Following Friday’s meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters, “He is very frightening on television.”
“But when I met him, he was very sincere, very powerful and strong willed,” he stated.
Washington and Tokyo have a lot in common. For five years in a row, Japan has been the largest foreign investor in the US, generating thousands of employment. Additionally, Japan is home to 54,000 US military troops.
But President Donald Trump has given his friends and opponents a lot to worry about: from trade conflicts against China, Canada and Mexico to his US “ownership” of Gaza proposal and his sanctions against the International Criminal Court.
