Japan Preparing for Talks with Trump on Maintaining US Presence

Ishiba has been seeking to meet with Trump since his election victory in November and is arranging a trip to Washington in the coming weeks.

With a minority government following a significant election loss in October due to voter anger over his party’s financial scandals, Ishiba is struggling to stay in power at least until the next major elections this summer, the AP reported.

“With the balance of power in the region making a historic change, we must further deepen Japan-US cooperation and ensure the US commitment to the region to prevent any power vacuum from destabilizing it,” Ishiba said in a policy speech to parliament.

Ishiba said Japan faces “the most severe and complicated security environment” since World War II and needs to bolster its own defense capabilities and elevate the Japan-US alliance while expanding and deepening ties with other partners.

The United States is Japan’s only treaty ally and Japanese officials are worried that Trump is likely to place less importance on relationships in the region developed under former US President Joe Biden to counter China’s growing influence.