TOKYO – The fawning praise that the leaders of America and Japan showered upon each other at the White House during their first meeting on Feb 7 belies the lack of first-name intimacy, reflecting a business-like approach that might hamper their envisioned “new golden age” of bilateral ties.
US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba did not call each other by their first names, much unlike how “Donald” referred to “Shinzo” (the late former Japanese premier Shinzo Abe) or how “Joe” (former US President Joe Biden) and “Fumio” (former premier Fumio Kishida) addressed each other.
Instead, they called each other “President Trump” and “Prime Minister Ishiba”.
The use of first names, especially to the Japanese, is highly symbolic of a close, trusting relationship. That neither leader crossed that bridge this time reflects an arm’s-length approach that could portend obstacles going forward.
Mr Trump reminisced about Mr Abe during the 35-minute joint news conference with Mr Ishiba – mentioning the former leader five times, including twice as just “Shinzo”.
“Trump met the Japanese Prime Minister, who just happens to be Ishiba,” Dr Satoru Nagao, non-resident fellow of the Hudson Institute think-tank, told The Straits Times. “Japan as a country is important to Trump’s foreign policy, but not so much whoever is in charge.”
One hurdle may come soon, despite the many banner outcomes of the make-or-break summit, for which Mr Ishiba made a whirlwind 24-hour stop in Washington.
He won no promises from Mr Trump that Japan, which had a US$68.5 billion (S$92.8 billion) trade surplus over the US in 2024, would be exempt from tariffs.
Mr Ishiba, seemingly caught off-guard by a question over whether Japan would levy reciprocal tariffs if it were targeted, would only say: “‘I cannot answer hypothetical questions’ is the standard response in the Japanese Diet.”
Mr Trump laughed off the “very good answer” before abruptly ending the press conference. Without any handshakes or light banter with Mr Ishiba, he walked offstage, leaving the Japanese leader alone at the rostrum.
Still, they had been full of flattery for each other. Mr Trump said he wished he were “as handsome as” Mr Ishiba, who has “qualities of greatness”. Mr Ishiba, in turn, gushed about meeting a celebrity who had a “fearsome” on-screen image but was “very sincere, very powerful, and has a strong mission”.
Despite Mr Ishiba insisting that he was “not trying to suck up” to Mr Trump, the summit’s headline pledges all came from Japan.
He vowed to redress their trade imbalance and grow economic investments in the US to an unprecedented US$1 trillion, although Japan already is America’s top foreign direct investor since 2019.
The US, however, promised more of the same, reaffirming that its commitment to defend Japan, including using nuclear capabilities, also applies to the disputed Senkaku islets that China claims and calls the Diaoyu.
Mr Trump also drove the nail into the coffin of Nippon Steel’s planned buyout of US Steel – while erroneously calling Nippon “Nissan” – by saying that the firm would “invest heavily in US Steel, as opposed to owning it, (which would be) psychologically not good”.
Mr Ishiba concurred, saying: “It will not be an acquisition but an investment, with Japanese technology provided to make better-quality products in the US.
“This is for the benefit of the US, Japan and the whole world. It is not one-sided, but reciprocal and mutually beneficial.”
Nippon, the world’s fourth-largest steelmaker, and US Steel, a faded giant now the 24th-largest, announced the deal in December 2023 that was supported by US Steel employees as a financial lifeline and by observers as a prime example of “friend-shoring” against China.
But Mr Biden vetoed the deal on potential “national security” grounds. Despite the statements on Feb 7, the Reuters news agency, however, cited two sources as saying that Nippon Steel has not formally withdrawn its bid.
Separately, Japan also agreed to import liquefied natural gas from Alaska – impossible under the climate-conscious Biden administration but vital to address Japan’s own energy insecurities.
This gave a notable win to Mr Trump, who said it could resolve trade deficit issues “very quickly”.
Mr Ishiba added that Japan was also looking to buy bioethanol, ammonia and other resources from the US at a reasonable price.
Experts said that Mr Trump’s decision to invite Mr Ishiba as the second world leader to the White House – after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – since taking office speaks volumes of the legacy ties with Mr Abe and his widow Akie, and about the role that the US sees Japan playing in its competition with China.
Mr Ishiba was mindful of building familiarity with Mr Trump by enlisting Mr Abe’s former interpreter Sunao Takao, a senior Japanese diplomat whom Mr Trump reportedly referred to affectionately as “little prime minister”.
Mr Ishiba also consulted Mrs Abe, who had a private dinner with the Trumps in December before attending the January inauguration.
“Such legacies can serve as leverage, but ultimately it’s a personal relationship between the leaders,” Ms Asuka Tatebayashi, a senior analyst in Mizuho Bank’s global strategic advisory department, told ST.
And on China, the two allies said they would “cooperate even more closely to combat Chinese economic aggression”, and emphasised that a peaceful and stable Taiwan Strait was “an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community”.
Mr Trump has surrounded himself with China hawks, but Sino-Japan ties have concurrently also been warming under Mr Ishiba.
This raises questions of how – and whether – Mr Ishiba can successfully manage the big-power relationship just as Mr Abe had, with Japan acting as a ballast amid heated US-China competition. Mr Abe was even invited to visit China as a state guest in 2018.
“Japan hopes there can be a soft landing, and wishes complete decoupling with China will not happen,” Dr Nagao said. “But if Ishiba ends up frustrating Trump, Japan could end up becoming a target itself.”
“There’s a risk shared across Japan’s private sector that the US might push Japan to choose sides or strengthen its export curbs against China, which would almost inevitably lead China to retaliate by, say, restricting exports of rare earths like gallium and germanium,” Ms Tatebayashi added, referring to materials used in semiconductors.
“But in a way, warmer ties with Beijing can be a positive, as it gives Japan a communication channel to talk things out with China.”
- Walter Sim is Japan correspondent at The Straits Times. Based in Tokyo, he writes about political, economic and socio-cultural issues.”
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