WASHINGTON (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sought to reaffirm her alliance with President Donald Trump on Thursday after the president this week complained that Japan was among the nations that did not join his call to help protect the Strait of Hormuz.
Takaichi, who met with Trump at the White House, told the Republican president that Japan has opposed Iran’s development of its nuclear programme and appealed to his desire to be seen as a peacemaker, despite launching a war of choice with Iran, by telling him through an interpreter: “Even against that backdrop, I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world.”
The agenda of Taikaichi’s meeting has swung in the wake of the Iran war. The meeting at the White House, followed by a dinner Thursday night, was supposed to give Japan’s new prime minister a prime opportunity to have Trump’s ear before he embarked on a trip to China.
But now, the war in Iran and Trump’s unsuccessful call for Japan and other nations to help protect the vital Strait of Hormuz means the China trip has been delayed. Trump had repeatedly complained on camera and online that US allies, including Japan, rejected his request to help safeguard the critical waterway for oil and gas transport.
The prime minister acknowledged before she left Japan that she expected her meeting with Trump will be “very difficult.”
But on Thursday, the two leaders had warm words for each other in public. Before Takaichi praised Trump, he called her a “popular powerful woman.”
He told reporters that they would be discussing in their meeting Japan’s level of support for the US in the Iran war, saying, “They are really stepping up to the plate.” He did not offer details.
During their meeting, Takaichi and Trump are expected to announce a $40 billion nuclear reactor deal, according to a White House official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details before the announcement.
Under the deal, U.S.-based GE Vernova Inc. and Japan-based Hitachi Ltd. will build advanced small modular reactors in Tennessee and Alabama, the official said. The deal aims to help stabilize electricity prices and expand power generation in the US.
Takaichi and her ministers have denied that Washington officially requested Japanese warships for the US-Israeli operation.
