Media Mentions

A “successful meeting with Trump is a must for Takaichi’s survival as Prime Minister,” Tokuko Shironitta, managing director for Japan at strategic advisory firm the Asia Group, tells TIME. Takaichi, whose party commands a minority government and has slid in successive elections, has little room for error during her tenure. Her predecessor lasted less than […]

In Japan, rice is a staple and a symbol of the nation’s identity, and recently, an issue in domestic politics because of a shortage that has sent prices soaring. Ms. Takaichi’s office appeared to have made a calculated decision to make a good-will gesture to the United States during her first meeting with Mr. Trump, said

TAG Partner Dan Kritenbrink noted that while he is cautiously optimistic in the near term about U.S.-China relations, “none of the fundamentals in this relationship have changed.”

While much of the world is focused on President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday in South Korea, a summit of similarly major significance is scheduled for Tuesday in Tokyo. Trump will meet with newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first female leader, who comes to power at a decisive moment

TAG Partner Dan Kritenbrink noted, “It sounds like a diplomatic calendar has been set for the coming year, which could portend a period of relative stability in U.S.-China relations over the next six to twelve months. That would be welcome news, particularly for the business community.”

NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell about President Trump’s visit to Asia, where he’s looking to make deals and contain the rising influence of China.

“There’s a lot of effort being put into having a few headline announcements to create some momentum behind the whole thing,” said Kurt Tong, deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo during the Obama administration. “The Takaichi government wants to show progress on this in order to reassure the

Sanae Takichi is expected to emphasize her connection to Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister assassinated in 2022, who was Ms. Takaichi’s political mentor and who forged a closer bond with Mr. Trump than perhaps any other world leader. “She will be looking to cloak herself in the mantle of Abe to persuade Trump that she is

Denmark, now a partner at the Asia Group consultancy, said he was more concerned about the so-called “pillar II” of AUKUS, which is designed to spur innovation on advanced military technologies such as hypersonic weapons, undersea capabilities, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

India’s challenge is to sustain its delicate diplomatic equilibrium. As Ashok Malik of The Asia Group told Bloomberg, “India needs the trade deal with the U.S. and it needs energy access at reasonable prices. Economic statecraft would require Indian diplomacy to achieve both.” To that end, New Delhi has begun exploring increased imports of U.S.