US Election: Japan Government Closely Watches U.S. Election Results; Aims to Form Trusting Relationship with Eventual Winner

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:29 JST, November 6, 2024

The Japanese government is aiming to quickly build a relationship of trust with the winner of the U.S. presidential election, for which vote counting began on Wednesday morning.

“The Japan-U.S. alliance is the foundation of our diplomatic and national security policies,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference on Wednesday morning. “To further strengthen the alliance, we want to build a firmly trusting and cooperative relationship with the next [U.S.] administration.”

Hayashi emphasized that Japan will closely cooperate with the next president’s administration.

The Japanese government has made efforts to build good relations with both Republican candidate former President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris through the Japanese Embassy in the United States.

The government hopes to realize a telephone meeting between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and the president-elect soon after the election results are finalized. It is also planning an in-person meeting of the two when Ishiba visits the United States.