Takaichi, Trump Trade Praise at White House Dinner, Show Off Close Friendship

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:23 JST, March 20, 2026

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attended a cordial dinner at the White House on Thursday.

At the start of the dinner, U.S. President Donald Trump said, “We have a very special person with us tonight, an amazing person. Tonight, we are delighted to welcome a great friend and partner for her very first visit to the White House.”

Trump also told attendees, who included Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, that he had endorsed Takaichi during the recent House of Representatives election.

He added, “Our partnership has made both the United States and Japan stronger, freer, [more] successful than virtually any other nation on the planet, and under the leadership of the prime minister and myself I know we will soon make the partnership even stronger and better than ever before.”

Takaichi, wearing a dark gray suit and a pearl necklace, said, “A stronger Japan and a stronger America. A more prosperous Japan and a more prosperous America. I am very confident that Donald and I are the best buddies to realize this shared goal.” Trump stood beside her smiling.

Takaichi also congratulated Trump’s son Barron, who was to turn 20 on March 20. “I hear he has grown into a fine, handsome young man,” she said.

Music at the venue included Hibari Misora’s “Kawa no Nagare no yo ni” (Like the flow of a river) and the theme song from the movie “My Neighbor Totoro.”