President Donald Trump will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday, and much attention has gone to disputes over trade and defense spending. Yet the most important issue has remained below the radar: Taiwan.
Takaichi — a conservative “Japan First” nationalist who has called for a crackdown on illegal immigrants and more spending on her country’s military — has plenty in common with her American counterpart. And there is much for Trump to like in Japan’s policy direction, even as they continue to negotiate over automobile tariffs or the costs of keeping about 60,000 American troops stationed on the island.
Yet the new prime minister and the broader Japanese political class are deeply unsettled by the possibility that Trump is softening on China as he tries to reach a broad trade deal with President Xi Jinping, whom Trump plans to sit down with next Thursday in South Korea.
