Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi began her summit meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on the 28th by saying, "I am grateful for the long friendship with Prime Minister Abe," invoking former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had a good relationship with President Trump.

U.S. and Japanese leaders hold summit. Tokyo AFP Yonhap News. 

In her opening remarks at the summit held at the State Guest House in Moto-Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Prime Minister Takaichi expressed her gratitude for the congratulatory message following her LDP leadership election, and then brought up former Prime Minister Abe.

She added, "I am also grateful for the warm welcome you extended to Mrs. Akie Abe at the end of last year."

Last December, then-President-elect Trump invited and dined with Mrs. Akie Abe, the wife of former Prime Minister Abe, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

Prime Minister Takaichi stated, "In fact, Prime Minister Abe often spoke to me about President Trump's dynamic diplomacy," emphasizing that "President Trump has contributed to peace in Asia with his successful mediation of a ceasefire in Thailand and Cambodia."

She continued, "And the recent Middle East agreement," calling it an "unprecedented historic feat."

She remarked, "In such a short period, the world has become more peaceful. I was deeply impressed."

Furthermore, Prime Minister Takaichi stressed, "Japan and the United States have become the greatest alliance in the world. Japan will also contribute to global peace and prosperity together."

She added, "I am determined to regain a strong Japanese diplomacy to protect Japan's national interests," and expressed her hope that "Japan and the United States will further strengthen their cooperation for the advancement of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Additionally, Prime Minister Takaichi announced that Japan plans to donate 250 cherry trees to Washington D.C. to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States next year.

She concluded her opening remarks by saying, "I hope to build a new golden age of the Japan-U.S. alliance with President Trump to make Japan and the United States stronger and more prosperous."

Earlier, Prime Minister Takaichi waited inside the entrance of the State Guest House and exchanged greetings with President Trump upon his arrival, after which they posed for a commemorative photograph.

The two leaders then proceeded together to the venue where the honor guard was lined up. After the national anthems of both countries were played, they shook hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Commerce Howard Rutnik, and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister of Finance Katsuki Katayama, and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa.

The two leaders entered the meeting room approximately eight minutes later than the originally scheduled start time.

Prime Minister Takaichi explained the reason for the delay to other attendees, saying, "President Trump and I briefly enjoyed Major League Baseball (MLB)."

According to NHK, he stated that after inspecting the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73), which was docked at the Yokosuka base, with President Trump that afternoon, he returned to the Prime Minister's official residence and told reporters, "We were able to achieve significant results through frank discussions across a wide range of fields."

He added, "We confirmed that we will further strengthen economic security cooperation in areas such as critical minerals, rare earths, key technologies like AI, and shipbuilding."

He also stated, "We confirmed that we will further strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance, while simultaneously promoting further linkages with friendly nations such as South Korea and Japan."

Regarding the response to North Korea, he added, "We sought cooperation on the abduction issue and received full support from President Trump. We also newly reaffirmed our commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea."

When asked about discussions on the scale of the defense spending increase, Prime Minister Takaichi said, "There were no specific discussions. There were no talks with numbers in mind."

Yonhap News