During the US President’s visit to Tokyo, the two leaders signed an agreement to ‘secure’ the supply of critical minerals and rare earths essential to the technology and defense industries
the new Prime Minister of e promised a “new golden era” in the bilateral relationship during the visit of the President of the United States to this Tuesday (28). Takaichi, the first woman to govern Japan, did everything possible to please the American president and even announced that she will nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, according to the White House. The Japanese capital is the second stop on Trump’s trip to Asia, after Malaysia and before South Korea, where a meeting is scheduled for Thursday (30) with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to discuss various topics, in particular trade issues.
In response to Takaichi’s praise, the Republican president stated that the United States and Japan are “allies of the highest level”. “It’s a great honor to be with you, especially so early in what will be, I believe, one of your finest terms as prime minister,” Trump said. Takaichi stated that “he would like to make a new golden era of the alliance between Japan and the United States a reality, in which both countries become stronger and also more prosperous.”
The two also signed an agreement to “guarantee” the supply of critical minerals and rare earths, indispensable for industries such as technology and defense. A few weeks ago, China announced drastic restrictions on exports of rare earths and their derivatives, which led Trump to threaten the application of 100% tariffs on Chinese products.
military spending
Defense was another important topic of the meeting between Trump and Takaichi. The Republican demands that the United States’ allies increase military spending so that they continue to benefit from American protection. The Japanese head of government announced that the country will increase its defense budget to 2% of GDP, two years ahead of schedule. The United States government, which maintains nearly 60,000 military personnel in Japan, wants Tokyo to spend even more, possibly matching the 5% pledged in June by EU member countries. .
In a meeting aboard the American ship USS George Washington off the coast of Tokyo, Takaichi said his country is “committed to fundamentally strengthening its defense capabilities” to face the world’s greatest security risks.
To win the favor of the American president, Takaichi presented him with a golf club that belonged to the murdered former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a friend of Trump, as well as a gold-plated golf ball and a golf bag signed by a Japanese champion.
Commercial negotiations
The United States and Japan already reached a trade agreement in July, but some details must still be finalized. In September, Washington reduced tariffs on Japanese automobiles, a sector crucial to the Asian country’s exports and employment, to 15%. Japanese automakers want an even more significant reduction in the rate. Another topic of debate is how the 550 billion dollars in Japanese investments in the United States, foreseen in the July agreement, will be applied.
The republican arrived in Tokyo after visiting Malaysia during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, where he met with the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Lula and Trump discussed the imposition of 50% American tariffs on Brazilian products as retaliation for the conviction, for an attempted coup, to 27 years in prison, of former president Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of the Republican.
According to Lula, Brazil and the United States will soon reach a “definitive solution” to their trade dispute. On Wednesday, Trump will travel to South Korea and, a day later, will meet with Xi as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum summit, with the aim of ending the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
*With information from AFP
