Given that Trump’s conversation about Taiwan with Takaichi may be one of the last he has with a world leader before meeting Xi, Glaser said the new prime minister has an opportunity to convey concerns of Japan and other countries in the region
Although it is always difficult to predict how meetings with Trump will unfold, Takaichi seems to have the potential to build rapport with him based on their shared conservative views,” said Kristi Govella, senior adviser and Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Govella added that Takaichi could follow the example of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has positioned herself as the closest mainstream European leader to Trump, capitalizing on their ideological proximity.
In a similar vein, Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund, a Washington-based think tank, said, “I think the most important thing is that Japan’s new prime minister establishes a good relationship with President Trump.”
Glaser said Trump “respects strong leaders with strong opinions,” so she thinks Takaichi should articulate her vision for Japan’s future and its long-standing security alliance with the United States when they meet in Tokyo.
Some foreign affairs experts have observed that Takaichi’s relationship with Abe gives her a distinct advantage that she could use to win Trump’s favor. Abe arguably developed the most profound friendship with Trump of any leader during the U.S. president’s first term.
Takaichi, a hard-line conservative and security hawk, has given many senior posts to lawmakers who were affiliated with Abe before he was killed in a shooting during a campaign rally in 2022, expressing a willingness to emulate her mentor’s attempts to revitalize Japan’s economy and further strengthen its defense capabilities.
At her inauguration press conference on Tuesday, Takaichi used phrases reminiscent of Abe to explain her cabinet’s basic policies, such as saying that it will “restore Japanese diplomacy that flourishes on the world’s center stage.”
