COMMENTARY / Japan

Ishiba will finally meet Trump, expectations need to be kept low

U.S.-Japan ties face awkward meeting as Ishiba lacks Abe's rapport with Trump

Despite numerous past meetings between U.S. and Japanese leaders, Shigeru Ishiba's relationship with Donald Trump is expected to be awkward, lacking the rapport the U.S. president had with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. | Bloomberg

By Edo Naito
Contributing Writer

Feb 4, 2025

After numerous political, financial and business leaders, including the late-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s widow, Akie Abe, Liberal Democratic Party Vice President Taro Aso and SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son, met with U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will finally travel to the U.S. for talks on Friday.

The announced objective is to "strengthen the relationship between the U.S. and Japan."

Following Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya's meeting with new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio following the presidential inauguration, the objective escalated to "take the relationship to the highest level." Ishiba also hopes to establish a strong personal relationship of mutual trust with the U.S. president.