US Treasury chief Bessent hails ‘big victory’ for Japan PM Takaichi in election

WASHINGTON - US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hailed a “big victory” for Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in an election on Feb 8, declaring that a strong Japan makes the United States “strong in Asia.”

Ms Takaichi, a conservative, was endorsed by President Donald Trump ahead of the vote, which could give more than two-thirds of the seats to her Liberal Democratic Party, media estimates showed.

“The prime minister called a snap election... and boy, has she had a big victory today,” Mr Bessent said on Fox News show Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.

“She’s going to have a two-thirds majority in the Upper House. President Trump endorsed her last week. She’s a great... ally, great relationship with the president. And when Japan is strong, the US is strong in Asia.”

Ms Takaichi called the vote after becoming Japan’s fifth premier in as many years in October, reviving the flagging fortunes of her party.

On Feb 5, when Mr Trump delivered his endorsement of Ms Takaichi via social media, he also took the unusual step of announcing before the results of the voting that she would visit the White House on March 19.

In that post, Mr Trump said United States and Japan have been working to strike a “very substantial” deal on trade, as well as collaborating on national security. Mr Trump offered his “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Ms Takaichi.

Ms Takaichi on Feb 8 thanked Mr Trump for his “warm words” endorsing her, writing on X that “the potential of our Alliance is LIMITLESS.”

US-Japan trade was US$317 billion (S$403 billion) in 2024, and the two nations also have a longstanding security alliance, with some 50,000 US forces based in Japan, a lynchpin of the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific.

Ms Takaichi is viewed as a hawk on China, America’s chief strategic rival, and has suggested that Japan could intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take self-ruled Taiwan by force. AFP