Takaichi’s tightrope: Flatter Trump, don’t feed him

By: Phelim Kine and Sophia Cai | Politico |

President Donald Trump and Japan’s new prime minister meet this week for the first time and each has something to prove.

Sanae Takaichi’s rise to power as the country’s first female prime minister is tied, in part, to her tough persona and promises of a Japan First policy. Trump is looking to pressure Japan to spend more on its national defense and secure billions of dollars in new investments to reorient the trade relationship between the two countries.

How the two leaders navigate their first encounter could determine the tenor of U.S. Japan relations for the next three years.

What she doesn’t want to do is give Trump a chance to push her in public on issues like trade and defense,” said Yuki Tatsumi, former special assistant for political affairs at the Japanese embassy in Washington, now senior director at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security. ”If Takaichi can engage Trump on the agenda that she wants to talk about, which is, ‘we’re going to step up to the plate, we together will make the Indo-Pacific safer, more prosperous and secure,’ then that will be a win for her.”

Read the full article on Politico.