The visit of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to the United States passed without breakthroughs, but also without failures, despite the pressure hanging in the air from US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly asked his allies, including Tokyo, to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz, writes TASS in its analysis.
Both leaders seemed to need a demonstration of friendship. Trump reminded Japan of the attack on Pearl Harbor, but did not put any additional pressure on its key Asian ally to conduct Takaichi's visit in a warm atmosphere and avoid international isolation due to the strikes on Iran.
For the Japanese prime minister, who had originally planned the visit to the United States to coordinate his positions on China with Trump before his visit to Beijing, it was important to keep the American president focused on the Asia-Pacific region, to reaffirm the strength of the Japan-US alliance and to avoid committing to participating in the conflict in the Middle East by sending ships there.
Both sides partly got what they wanted. The main result of the trip was an agreement on Japanese investment, which Tokyo, under former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, had promised Washington in exchange for tariff cuts, cooperation to ensure stable energy supplies and security cooperation, including a fourfold increase in Japan's production of SM-3 anti-aircraft missiles.