Prime Minister Ishiba May Visit U.S. Early Next Month for 1st Summit with Trump

Jiji Press

11:40 JST, January 15, 2025

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba may visit the United States in early February for his first meeting with Donald Trump, who will take the oath as U.S. president next week, Japanese government sources said Tuesday.

The Japan-U.S. summit could take place in early February at earliest or in the middle of the month at latest, a government official said after Ishiba told reporters the previous day that Tokyo and Washington were in the final phase of arranging the meeting.

According to people familiar with the matter, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday. He hopes to have talks with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Trump’s pick for secretary of state, to pave the way for the bilateral summit.

In a related development in Florida on Monday, Japan’s Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, who is set to become the country’s new security adviser a week later, held talks with Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Florida), who will be Okano’s U.S. counterpart.

“It would be possible for Ishiba to visit the United States in the first half of next month” because deliberations in Japan’s parliament on the government’s fiscal 2025 budget bill will climax in the latter half of the month, a source close to the prime minister said.

At a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the Japanese government hopes that the envisaged summit will help “deepen mutual understanding and strengthen ties between Japan and the United States.”

At the meeting, if materialized, Ishiba wants to share with Trump views on regional issues including China’s growing hegemonic bent and North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs, government sources said.

They may also discuss Japan’s defense spending and host-nation support for U.S. forces at a time when the Japanese government fears that Trump would request the Asian ally to boost both outlays.

In addition, discussions on the Trump tariffs and incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden’s order to prevent Nippon Steel Corp. from acquiring United States Steel Corp. would draw attention if the two leaders take up them, experts said.

Ishiba initially planned to stop in the United States to meet with Trump on the sidelines of his trip to South America in November. But he had to drop the plan. Ishiba later received the Trump side’s proposal that they meet in mid-January but declined to accept it as he opted for a formal summit after Trump takes office.