“His woman is in Asia” expectations from Trump’s meeting with the new Japanese prime minister are announced

US President Donald Trump began his Asian tour with a visit to Japan. The country is traditionally considered one of the most loyal partners of the United States. However, just last week, the post of Prime Minister of the Land of the Rising Sun was occupied for the first time by a woman. She became Sanae Takaichi. It is with her that Trump plans to meet in Tokyo, but what they can discuss is in our material.

As the New York Times recalls, Sanae Takaichi has never met US President Trump. She does not play golf, the American leader’s favorite sport, and is known to not share his love of hamburgers.

But Takaichi’s talks with Trump, according to the New York Times, will give the Japanese prime minister another card to play as she tries to win his support on trade and security issues.

She is expected to highlight her connection to Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister assassinated in 2022, who was Takaichi’s political mentor and who has developed a closer relationship with Trump than perhaps any other world leader.

Mira Rapp-Hooper, a partner at strategy consultancy Asia Group, said: “She will seek to take on Abe’s mantle to convince Trump that she is his woman in Asia and a reliable partner he can rely on.”

Takaichi will likely try to persuade Trump to reinvest in the decades-long security alliance with Japan and redouble efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the region. She may try to tighten Japan’s control over the $550 billion fund the country has agreed to invest in the United States.

Trump will likely seek to maintain his power over how the money is spent. He is also likely to push Sanae Takaichi to increase defense spending, even though Japan itself has already announced plans to more than double its military budget.

Takaichi, a staunch conservative, is considered by some officials and analysts to be Japan’s best ally in mending relations with the current head of the White House and curbing his punitive instincts.

Takaichi, believes former Japanese Ambassador to Washington Shinsuke Sugiyama, has a “golden chance” to reset relations with the United States: “She has studied how Prime Minister Abe treated President Trump. She learned a lot from him. And if she and President Trump can start talking about how great Shinzo Abe was, I think they won’t be able to disagree on anything.”

When Trump visited Japan, Abe capitalized on the pomp and circumstance, inviting him to a sumo tournament and giving him the honor of becoming the first international leader to meet the newly enthroned emperor.

By the way, this time Trump’s first stop was the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, where he met with Emperor Naruhito. Their meeting lasted about half an hour. As Trump left the palace, he pointed to the emperor and said, “Great man, great man.”

As early as Tuesday, he will have lunch with Lady Takaichi at the Akasaka Palace, the state guest house. He will also preside over a gathering of American troops at a naval base near Tokyo. (There are more than 50 thousand American troops in Japan).

Like Abe, Sanae Takaichi spoke of the need to emancipate Japan’s military after decades of post-war pacifism. She also appears keen to demonstrate her commitment to Trump, who has pressed US allies to increase their military spending: On Friday she announced that Japan will spend about 2% of GDP on defense by next spring, two years ahead of schedule.

In his meeting with Trump, Takaichi is expected to raise concerns about the ongoing militarization of the South China Sea. She also actively defends Taiwan. She visited the island in the spring, met with its president, Lai Qingde, and called for stronger security ties. Takaichi is expected to seek confirmation of the same position from Trump.

A trade agreement will also be a priority during Trump’s visit. In July, Japan received lower-than-expected 15 percent tariffs on its exports in exchange for a commitment to invest $550 billion in the U.S. economy. Both sides are working out how Japan will use the money in the form of investments, loans and loan guarantees.

By the way, Donald Trump himself said that his trip to Japan will be dedicated to “great friendship” and that he is looking forward to meeting Sanae Takaichi.