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Takaichi faces major test to avoid Trump’s epic fury over Iran war
The Japanese Prime Minister has to placate the US President while deflecting his demand for Tokyo to militarily support America’s campaign to open the Strait of Hormuz.
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US President Donald Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aboard the USS George Washington in Yokosuka in 2025
PHOTO: HAIYUN JIANG/NYTIMES
James D.J. Brown
Ms Sanae Takaichi must have felt her dreams had come true when she took the stage alongside US President Donald Trump aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in Yokosuka on Oct 28, 2025.
Just one week earlier, she had been appointed Japan’s first-ever woman prime minister. Now, she was presiding over a highly successful visit by the leader of Japan’s most important ally. A visibly elated Ms Takaichi hopped up and down and punched the air as President Trump lauded their countries’ “beautiful friendship”.
