Takaichi to press Japanese investment pitch when she meets Trump in New York
The Japanese prime minister meets Trump on Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, two days before his summit with Xi Jinping.
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Sanae Takaichi, Japan's prime minister since October 2025, plans to stress Japanese investment in the United States when she meets Donald Trump, according to Nikkei.
The meeting, reported by Kyodo News, will take place in New York on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly and two days before Trump's summit with Xi Jinping. It will mark at least the fourth in-person meeting between the two leaders since Takaichi took office, according to The News International.
Takaichi has made this pitch before. During Trump's visit to Tokyo in October 2025, she offered a package of US investments worth $550 billion, covering shipbuilding and higher purchases of American soybeans, natural gas and pickup trucks, according to All India Radio. The two governments have since found other friction points: The Japan Times reports differences over the International Criminal Court, and Washington has pressed Takaichi to reconsider fiscal policies blamed for rising Japanese interest rates. Asia News Network reports the US may also raise concerns over the weakening yen.
The renewed investment pitch fits a pattern among allied governments seeking direct economic engagement with Trump to offset tariff and trade concerns. With Trump focused on US economic gains and frustrated by what he sees as insufficient support from allies, a concrete investment offer could gain traction, though it amounts to defensive positioning rather than a substantive shift in the trade or geopolitical relationship between the two countries.