Japan, U.S. to Sign Agreement on Shipbuilding Cooperation as Trump Visits Japan

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, October 27, 2025

Japan and the United States are planning a memorandum toward jointly improving their shipbuilding capabilities, with the signing to coincide with U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Japan from Monday, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

The two countries plant to set up a working group to this end.

To improve their national security, the governments want to increase critical maritime shipping capabilities and compete with China, the world’s largest shipbuilder by tonnage.

Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Yasushi Kaneko and U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass will likely be the ones to sign the memorandum.

According to a draft of the memorandum, the two countries will establish a “Japan-U.S. shipbuilding working group” and together work toward stimulating their shipbuilding industries.

Under the plan, Japanese and U.S. companies will cooperate by investing in the construction and improvement of shipyards to make shipbuilders more competitive and efficient.

Shipbuilding is one field of cooperation agreed on in Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations, in which Japan promised to invest $550 billion (about ¥80 trillion) in the United States.

The draft of the memorandum states that the two countries recognize “that a strong and innovative shipbuilding industry is vital to the economic security, strength, and competitiveness of the maritime sector and the industrial resilience of both nations.”

According to the transport ministry, China has been increasing its global market share in shipbuilding by tonnage. China’s share of orders in 2024 exceeded 70%.

Japan’s orders have been on the decline, and it only accounted for 8% of the market in 2024.

Japan and the United States are both concerned that if they grow any more reliant on China for shipbuilding, it could adversely affect maritime shipping in an emergency.

To increase compatibility in shipbuilding, the two governments will also consider standardizing vessel designs and parts.

The aim seems to be to allow technological developments to be made smoothly and jointly and to have U.S. shipbuilders produce parts designed by Japanese companies.

The two governments also foresee shipbuilders being able to repair ships from the other country and supply parts for these ships.

There will also be measures to improve recruiting and training for personnel needed in the industry.

The draft memorandum notes that Japan and the United States will develop and introduce advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence to improve vessel design and functionality.

As Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Trump are scheduled to hold a summit on Tuesday, the two countries will likely sign another memorandum for greater cooperation on supplies of important mineral resources, including rare earths.

The memorandum will likely encourage investment in joint development projects and diversification of supply sources.

Japan and the United States hope to build supply chains that will not rely on China, which has restricted exports of rare earths.