The Japan-US Summit: Takaichi’s Impossible Task

By: Yuki Tatsumi | The Diplomat |

On March 19, Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae will face President Donald Trump at the White House. Her summit meeting with Trump will be the biggest foreign policy challenge for her to date. She must successfully execute a seemingly impossible task – walking out of the meeting with Trump and being able to call the summit a “success” when she and Trump has serious disagreements over approaches to Iran.

A “successful” summit was clearly within her grasp. Her trade minister, Ryosei Akazawa, has been busy shuttling back and forth, finalizing the agreement on the first tranche of Japan’s investments in the United States in sectors that are critical for the two countries’ economic security and supply chain resiliency, including AI data centers, energy infrastructure, and artificial diamonds. Takaichi also plans to “deliver” 250 cherry blossom trees from Japan as a gift to celebrate America’s 250th birthday the day before the opening of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington. Most importantly, she will face Trump as a “big winner,” following her landslide victory in the lower house election in February.

Then, the unthinkable happened – the United States, in a joint operation with Israel, launched an offensive against Iran on February 28. Despite Trump’s repeated claims that the U.S. is “ahead of schedule” in its military campaign against Iran, and the war will over “soon,” the fighting continues, now entering in its third week.

Read the full article on The Diplomat.