Leaders pledge to stand against Chinese ‘aggression’, announce compromise on Nippon Steel-US Steel deal.
Published On 8 Feb 2025
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US President Donald Trump have struck a warm tone in their first meeting, with Tokyo avoiding tariffs that Trump has slapped on other allies – for now.
Heaping praise on each other at the White House, the two leaders on Friday pledged to stand together against Chinese “aggression” and said they found a solution to a blocked deal for troubled US Steel.
Trump however pressed Ishiba to cut the US trade deficit with Japan to zero and warned that Tokyo could still face tariffs on exported goods if it fails to do so.
Ishiba, an avowed “geek” and model warship fan, has been under pressure to replicate Trump’s close relationship with former premier and golf buddy, Shinzo Abe.
Both leaders insisted they had struck up a rapport during what was only the second visit by a foreign leader of Trump’s new term.
“I was so excited to see such a celebrity on television in person,” Ishiba told their joint news conference – while saying he was not trying to “suck up”.
“On television, he is frightening and has a very strong personality. But when I met with him, actually, he was very sincere and very powerful.”
As they exchanged photographs, Trump praised the 68-year-old Japanese premier as “good looking” – typically one of the former reality TV star’s highest orders of praise.
And the US president laughed and said “that’s a very good answer” when Ishiba said he could not respond to a “theoretical question” about whether he would retaliate to any US tariffs.
Trump, meanwhile, said that Japan’s Nippon Steel will make a major investment in US Steel, but not take over the troubled company as previously negotiated.
Trump said “they’ll be