President Donald Trump showed his negotiation prowess on Friday at his first White House meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, laying out new U.S. Steel investments and looking for a partner to combat China.
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Ishiba spent hours with the senator days after Trump upended years of American foreign policy by proposing an American job of the Gaza Strip. Afterward, he announced that Japan would increase its defense budget by 2027 and that Nippon Steel may otherwise invest in U.S. Steel.
Trump said to reporters Friday during the pair’s joint press conference,” I’m pleased to say that my administration approved nearly$ 1 billion in foreign military sales to Tokyo.”
Aside from the plan announcements, Friday’s conference was an option for the two people to present themselves to each other. Ishiba has only been in office as Japan’s prime minister since October 2024, despite Trump’s close friendship with the later Shinzo Abe.
” On tv, he is frightening and he has a very powerful personality”, Ishiba told reporters through speakers when asked about his first impression. ” But when I met with him in man, truly, he was very earnest and powerful”.
The White House previewed that the people would discuss “realistic” martial exercises, security features, and foreign investment in the U. S. from Japan, including in production and strength, in addition to business opportunities regarding important systems, such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors.
During his first administration, Trump expressed concerns related to Japan’s defense spending as a percentage of its gross domestic product, particularly considering the U. S. has its largest permanent overseas military presence, with 50, 000 service members stationed there. Trump has previously used tariff threats, and negotiations for a new deal are set to begin in the new year.
” There’s a partnership that’s long-standing, and the president is committed to, always committed to the security of the United States and our allies”, one senior administration official told the Washington Examiner of Japan’s defense spending.
The military exercises come at a time when China is resuming its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region and as the United States struggles to defend its national security and economic interests as a result of the social media app TikTok, China’s rapid development of DeepSeek AI technology, and the spread of the lethal synthetic drug fentanyl.
A Chinese warship nearly collided with a U.S. destroyer carrying out a routine mission in the Taiwan Strait in 2023, Beijing claimed it was a deliberate provocation on the part of the U.S.
A fleet of commercial Filipino vessels were seriously damaged as a result of separate incidents the year that resulted in injuries to both American sailors and Filipino sailors.
The U. S. and Japan undertook two biennial, joint training exercises,” Keen Edge” and” Keen Sword” in February and November 2024, respectively.
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Trump has attempted to use tariffs, with an additional 10 % levy added this month, to bolster the country’s economic strength against China, but Chinese President Xi Jinping has merely responded in kind.
Trump told House Republicans last month he was contemplating additional duties on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and steel. Trump teased a reciprocal tariff imposition coming next week in opposition to the idea of a universal flat tariff on Friday and said it was a possibility.
” The U. S. would match tariffs to levels charged by each country”, he said. ” I think that’s the only fair way to do it. That way, nobody’s hurt. We are charged. We charge them”.
Trump and Biden both welcomed Nippon Steel’s potential investment in the company after meeting with U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt on Thursday at the White House despite their opposition to Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel for nearly$ 15 billion last year.
” They’ve agreed to invest heavily in U. S. Steel as opposed to own it, and that sounds very exciting”, he said.
Following a recommendation from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., Biden blocked Nippon’s purchase of U.S. Steel in his final days in office. Trump said he would arrange the final terms of the steel company’s final terms with a meeting the following week.
A government official said the president “is committed to the total denuclearization of North Korea,” and a White House was also requested on Friday to provide an update on his policy toward the country.
During the press conference, Trump provided more details, including the U. S.” will have relations with North Korea”.
” We had a good relationship, and I think it’s a very big asset for everybody that I do have a lot with them”, he said. ” I get along with them, and they get along with me, and that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. And I can tell you that Japan enjoys the concept because of their antagonistic relationship.
Trump and Ishiba met for a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office and a working lunch in the Cabinet Room on Friday morning before answering reporters ‘ questions during the president’s second joint press conference of the week, which took place in the East Room in the afternoon. During that first press conference, he declared that the U. S. would “take over” Gaza’s reconstruction alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday evening.
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Trump initially acknowledged his willingness to send American troops to Gaza, but later in the week White House officials attempted to retract his remarks.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated during her Wednesday briefing that despite Trump’s commitment to a “long-term” occupation the president won’t “force the United States to be entangled in conflicts abroad.”
