Tokyo Report | Diplomacy | East Asia

Japan Is America’s Indispensable Ally

Trump, China, and the Iran War make this point even clearer.

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and U.S. President Donald Trump pose for the cameras during their summit meeting at the White House, Mar. 19, 2026.

Japan has remained largely immune to what is now the infamous wrath of U.S. President Donald Trump. To be sure, it did not receive special treatment when “Liberation Day” arrived on April 2, 2025 – when Trump imposed a worldwide tariff regime that was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in February. Japan also continues to be, like many other allies, criticized by the president for not paying its fair share of the security burden.

However, on trade, Japan turned a potential crisis into an opportunity by holding its line – particularly on automobiles and agricultural products. It has become the only nation to formulate and advance an investment strategy in the United States that appears to offer reciprocal value to Japanese businesses while strengthening Japan’s overall supply chain resilience for critical materials. Japan under Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae is also strengthening its resolve to bear a greater defense burden by increasing defense spending, revising its national security strategy, and demonstrating a willingness to take part in a potential conflict.

While nations perceived as not sufficiently “appreciating” the United States’ continued commitment to international security and to the defense of its allies – expressed in controversial ways, such as demanding to acquire Greenland and pressuring Ukraine into a ceasefire – have become targets of Trump’s volatility, Japan has thus far succeeded in maintaining a positive working relationship through two prime ministers. In fact it appears that through their exchanges, Japan’s leaders under the second Trump administration have acquired a certain amount of respect from the president.78

In describing Ishiba Shigeru, Trump referred to him as “a very strong man” – a high compliment in his vocabulary – and even called him on one occasion without any pressing matter, reportedly startling the Japanese government. Regarding Takaichi, her election victory has reinforced Trump’s view of her as a “very popular, powerful woman.” Notable courtesy was extended to Takaichi during the most recent Oval Office meeting, though that may have been blurred by the president’s awkward remarks on the Pearl Harbor attack.

Observing Trump’s apparent keenness toward Japan casts his past criticisms in a different light. During the 1980s, Japan was a prime target of Trump’s public attacks. He believed that Japan was reaping the security benefits provided by the United States while flooding the U.S. market with its own products and enjoying its postwar economic miracle. He seemed to believe that Japan was taking advantage of the U.S. economically, despite the fact that the United States had helped enable its rise. 

However, drawing on interviews Trump gave over the years, Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman have argued that his real grievance lay less with Japan itself than with the U.S. elite, whom he believed had been outmaneuvered by U.S. allies. More recently, one of Trump’s remarks about Japan’s restrictions on certain imports on “Liberation Day” encapsulated his view of Japan as both a rival and a respectable competitor:

Japan – very, very tough, great people. And again, I don’t blame the people for doing it. I think they’re very smart in doing it. I blame the people that sat right in that Oval Office right over there, right behind the Resolute Desk or whichever desk they chose.

Japan – very, very tough, great people. And again, I don’t blame the people for doing it. I think they’re very smart in doing it. I blame the people that sat right in that Oval Office right over there, right behind the Resolute Desk or whichever desk they chose.

Although Japan does not publicly press its........

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