President Donald Trump held a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, following a meeting with him at the White House Friday afternoon.
“After our meeting today, I’m confident that the cherished alliances between our two countries and others also will continue to flourish long and into the future,” Trump said in his opening remarks. “The military cooperation between the United States and Japan is one of our closest security partnerships, and it’s one of the closest we have anywhere in the world.”
Trump said the two leaders spoke “long and hard” about their economic and trade relationship and noted Japan’s outsized investments in the U.S.
The US president said Japan will have some “competition,” because other countries are also eager to invest in the U.S.
Earlier in the day, during the meeting with Ishiba, Trump did not rule out imposing tariffs on Japan.
The president announced Japan would be taking in new shipments of American liquified natural gas or LNG “in record numbers.”
Before the news conference, among the top issues to come up during Trump’s meeting with the Japanese prime minister was Nippon Steel’s deal to acquire U.S. Steel, despite former President Joe Biden’s rejection of the merger and Trump’s previous pledge to block the deal.
Trump told reporters Friday he hasn’t changed his mind on U.S. Steel, but multiple sources said he is considering allowing Japan’s Nippon Steel to complete its $14.1 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel.
Approval of the transaction isn’t definite, and Trump has not made a final decision, sources say. Trump told reporters Friday that he and the Japanese prime minister would be discussing the U.S. steel deal.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump met with the CEO of U.S. Steel, David Burritt, at the White House. Biden administration blocked the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel last month. U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel have filed lawsuits over the Biden administration’s decision to stop Nippon Steel from taking over its Pittsburgh-based rival company.
“The United States is proud of our long and close alliance with Japan, and it’s time for a new age of U.S. Japan relations to bring peace and prosperity to the Indo-Pacific,” a senior administration official told reporters on a phone call. “Our two nations will continue to work together to ensure we deter threats in the region through our full range of military capabilities.”
Friday was Trump’s first in-person meeting with Ishiba.
Trump’s appearance with the Japanese prime minister is his second meeting and joint press conference with a foreign leader this week. On Tuesday, Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and said the U.S. wants to take control of and “own” the Gaza Strip.
Ishiba will likely look to persuade Trump from placing any tariffs on Japanese goods, as Trump exercises his authority to slap tariffs on nations that he believes aren’t treating the U.S. fairly.
The U.S. and Japan have close financial ties, and Japan is the largest source of direct foreign investment into the U.S.
A senior administration official said topics of their discussion will include training exercises and increasing cooperation on defense equipment and technology, foreign investment in the U.S., energy exports, and ways to increase cooperation in space ventures, among other things.
Trump grew close to Japan’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022. Trump hosted Abe’s widow at his Mar-a-Lago estate in December.
