Japan’s Ishiba to meet Trump next week, trade set to be key focus
Donald Trump has confirmed his planned meeting with Shigeru Ishiba, with the two leaders expected to also discuss security cooperation
“They’re coming in to speak to me and I’m looking forward to it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.
The meeting is expected to take place on February 7. Japan’s Asahi newspaper reported on Thursday that the leaders of the two long-time allies would discuss strengthening economic and security cooperation.
Ishiba, who took office in October, a little over a month before Trump’s re-election, was keen to build a personal relationship early in the US president’s second term and deepen Japan’s key US alliance amid shared concerns about China’s growing power, people familiar with the matter said.
Ishiba planned to highlight how Japanese companies create jobs in the US and increases in Japan’s defence budget, the people said.
Shinzo Abe, a predecessor of Ishiba’s as prime minister who launched significant defence reforms and was assassinated in 2022, enjoyed a strong rapport with Trump during the latter’s first term.
