Trump-Takaichi meeting: Iran war looms large
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (R) hold up signed documents for a critical minerals/rare earth deal with Japan during a meeting at Akasaka Palace on October 28, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. Trump is on a visit to Asia that takes in the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, followed by a trip to Japan and South Korea ahead of the APEC meetings.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images
As Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi travels to Washington for her first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump stateside, the Iran conflict will loom large over their meeting.
The Japanese PM’s meeting with Trump on Thursday will be her first after she led the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to victory in February, its largest electoral win since World War II.
Stephen Nagy, professor of politics and international studies at Tokyo’s International Christian University (ICU) told CNBC over email that “Takaichi will do what all Japanese PMs do, reaffirm that the Japan-U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of Japan’s security but also to the peace and stability of the free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
But the topic of Iran is likely to dominate the meeting, experts told CNBC.
Iran conflict
Before the conflict with Tehran started on Feb. 28, Takaichi’s meeting was expected to focus on Japan’s investment in the U.S., increasing defence spending, and to talk about the now-postponed summit between Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping. That’s according to Jeffery Hornung, Japan Lead for the National Security Research Division at RAND, a U.S. based think-tank.
The original plan was to come “bearing gifts”, showing how Japan is a very forward leaning partner in defense and economically, Hornung said in a phone interview. “But the big uncertainty is, how much will the war in Iran dominate the President’s thinking on that day?”
“I do think that it would be hard not to talk about having Japan contribute in some capacity, given that it does depend on the Strait for over 90% of its oil imports.”
Jeffery Hornung
Japan Lead, National Security Research Division, RAND
In a Truth Social post, the U.S. president called on allies including Japan to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, justifying that it would benefit them more than Washington. So far, no country has publicly committed to support Trump’s efforts.
“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their territory. It’s the place from which they get their energy. And they should come and they should help us protect it,” Trump said.
Takaichi told Japan’s parliament on Tuesday the government is considering what can be done within the framework of Japanese law, although she also said that she would put national interests first, according to public broadcaster NHK.
The Prime Minister’s Office also said in a post on X that “There has been no specific request from the United States to Japan for the dispatch of vessels.”
Takaichi also reportedly said Monday that…
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