Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae has left Tokyo for the United States to hold talks with US President Donald Trump.
How to deal with the situation in Iran and strengthening cooperation on a wide range of issues, including economic cooperation and through investments in the United States, are on the agenda in the talks that will be held Thursday in Washington.
Takaichi left Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on a government plane late Wednesday local time for her first summit at the White House since she took office. She will be meeting Trump in person for the second time.
Takaichi told reporters late Wednesday that global peace and stability are under threat, citing risks to navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and to energy security.
She said it is important that the situation be calmed down as soon as possible, and that efforts are made for peace and stability in the Middle East, including on energy security.
She expressed readiness to engage in concrete discussion while taking into account Japan’s position and views.
She stressed the need to maximize Japan’s national interests, warning that if the current instability continues it will seriously affect the economies of Japan, the United States and countries around the world. She added that economic security could also be impacted, and said those issues should be included in the talks.
Takaichi also expects to reconfirm the importance of the Japan-US alliance.
As part of strengthening bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas, she plans to convey that Japan will cooperate to boost US crude oil production.
Meanwhile, final preparations are underway for the two leaders to announce the second set of projects under a deal struck last year for Japan to invest 550 billion dollars in the United States.
Preparations are also ongoing for the two countries to compile an action plan for the introduction of a floor price for rare earth elements and other critical minerals.
The mechanism is designed to guarantee that rare earth producers do not suffer from price volatility caused by low-cost Chinese exports amid Japan’s efforts to diversify suppliers to reduce its dependence on China for the elements
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