Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a gathering on the Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan, March 18, 2026. /VCG
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is broadly thought to face a troublesome diplomatic second as she prepares to satisfy US President Donald Trump throughout her first go to to Washington as Japan’s chief.
The one-on-one assembly has drawn heightened consideration as a result of ongoing US-Israeli assaults on Iran and rising US strain on Japan relating to the Strait of Hormuz escort mission.
Though Trump mentioned the US not wants assist from conventional allies, together with NATO and Japan, consultants say Takaichi should current Japan as a powerful and dependable ally and mollify the US chief.
“It’s hard to imagine that Trump is going to be completely satisfied with what Japan can offer,” James Schoff, a Japan knowledgeable on the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA in Washington, was quoted by Japan Times as saying.
“His expectations are probably higher than what is feasible in the short term, so this is a true diplomatic test for Prime Minister Takaichi.”
So far, Takaichi has been cautious to not criticize the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Before her departure, Takaichi mentioned in parliament on Wednesday that she would inform Trump what Japan “can and cannot do” within the Middle East.
Sending its Self-Defense Forces overseas is politically delicate in formally pacifist Japan, the place most Japanese help the US-imposed, war-renouncing 1947 structure, which the nation adopted after its defeat in World War II.
In a major step again from its post-war pacifism, Japan handed safety legal guidelines in 2015 permitting it to make use of pressure abroad in restricted circumstances. That is permitted provided that an assault, together with on an in depth safety accomplice, threatens Japan’s survival and no different means can be found to deal with it. The legislation permits the army to be deployed abroad – however solely after preventing has stopped.
Furthermore, Japan faces a hurdle in worldwide legislation relating to whether or not the US army motion is permitted by the UN Security Council or justified as self-defense.
Public sentiment can be an element, with a current Asahi Shimbun ballot exhibiting solely 9% of Japanese endorse the US-Israeli strikes.
Source: CGTN