Trump's meeting with the PM of Japan is marred by the Iran conflict.

 

Trump compares attack on Iran to Pearl Harbor in meeting with Japanese PM (Image: BBC)

Just a few days after the president's calls for allies to help secure the war-ravaged Strait of Hormuz went largely unanswered, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is meeting with Donald Trump in what she anticipated would be a "very difficult" conversation. Hours prior to her departure, Takaichi declared to the parliament that she would "do everything to maximize [Japan's] national interest." While the visit was billed as a chance to to talk trade and deepen the US-Japan alliance, shared concerns over the war's impact cast a shadow over the meeting.

 In the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said he expected Japan to "step up" and help safeguard the flow of oil through the region.

Read More: China is hitting Japan where it hurts. Will PM Takaichi give in?

The trip was scheduled in October, a week after Takaichi took office. That's when Tokyo threw a party for Trump and the two leaders gave each other compliments, heralding a new "golden age" in ties between the two countries. According to Emma Chanlett-Avery, director for political and security affairs at the Asia Society Policy Institute, who stated to the BBC that Takaichi was "fresh off a dominant election victory and with a new round of investment projects in the US," the upcoming meeting appeared to be set to be a success as of a few weeks ago. However, Chanlett-Avery stated that despite the fact that Takaichi "had intended to build on the warmth of her first meeting with Trump and press upon him Japan's concerns about Chinese aggression ahead of Trump's [then scheduled] meeting with Xi," recent events have complicated matters. On his Truth Social platform earlier this week, Trump called on some nations to assist in securing the vital strait. He had pointed to Japan's and other Asian economies' dependence on fuel from the Middle East as reason for them to get involved.

 "The Strait of Hormuz gives us less than one percent of our oil, but some countries get much more... He wrote, "We want them to come and help us." He retracted his request, however, stating in a subsequent post that the United States did "NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!" after receiving a lukewarm response. In a joint statement along with the UK, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands published on Thursday, Japan expressed its shared "readiness to contribute appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage" through the strait.

 Trump stated, without providing specifics, that he now believes Japan "is stepping up to the plate" while sitting with his counterpart prior to the meeting. Takaichi, for her part, acknowledged a "very severe security environment" and a "huge hit" to the global economy - but said she believed Trump would be able to resolve it.

 She said through an interpreter, "I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world." "I am ready to reach out to many of the partners in the international community to achieve our objective together."

What did Trump ask for?

Trump did not explicitly say what, in his view, would constitute Japan "stepping up", although he has previously called on US allies to deploy naval forces to the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

 Since nearly 95% of the oil Japan uses flows through the strait, analysts said before the meeting that it would be difficult for Takaichi to simply refuse if Trump brought up the topic of assistance in the strait. Japan is constrained by the pacifist constitution it adopted after World War II, which prohibits the country from using force to resolve conflicts except in cases of self-defense. This is another issue with Trump potentially demanding military intervention from Tokyo. At one point in the meeting, Trump was asked why US allies were not informed about the operation ahead of time, prompting the president to bring up Japan's 1941 strike on the US.

 "We wanted to keep everyone surprised, so we didn't tell anyone about it. Who knows better about surprise than Japan?  OK, why didn't you let me know about Pearl Harbor? Trump said, referring to the Japanese attack on US naval installations in Hawaii. According to a recent poll conducted by The Asahi Shimbun newspaper, 82% of voters disapprove of the war. Direct military assistance would also be highly unpopular with the Japanese people.

Japan is constrained by the pacifist constitution it adopted after World War Two (Image: Getty Images)

What else did the leaders talk about?

According to Sheila Smith of the Council on Foreign Relations in the United States, Takaichi also responded to a question regarding China, which continues to be Japan's "biggest strategic challenge." Ties between Beijing and Tokyo have plummeted since November, when Takaichi appeared to suggest that Japan would activate its self-defence force in the event of an attack on Taiwan.

 China claims Taiwan, which is self-governing, and has not ruled out using force to "reunify" with it in the future. Neither has Takaichi apologized nor retract her statements. However, Takaichi stated on Thursday that "Japan has been consistently open to dialogue with China," and she also expressed her hope that the relationship between the United States and China will "contribute to regional security and also ensure a global supply chain for the world." According to reports in Japanese media last week, Takaichi and Trump were also expected to talk about Japan's participation in the US's Golden Dome missile defense system. The Iron Dome, which Israel has been using to intercept rockets and missiles since 2011, has been the inspiration for the project, which has been allocated an initial sum of $25 billion (£18.7 billion). Naturally, trade is also a topic of discussion. Takaichi said she wanted to talk about energy and rare earth minerals. Securing a stable economic partnership with the United States is especially important now that Japan's domestic economy is struggling to cope with rising inflation, a weak yen, and slow consumer spending.

Source: BBC