Trump meets Japan's new leader Takaichi for trade, security talks

By Trevor Hunnicutt, Tim Kelly and John Geddie

TOKYO (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump met Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, in Tokyo on Tuesday for talks on trade and security, a week after the hardline conservative became Japan’s first female leader and vowed to accelerate a military buildup.

Takaichi is expected to offer a package of U.S. investments in a $550-billion deal agreed this year, including shipbuilding, and increased purchases of U.S. soybeans, gas and pickup trucks, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

She also plans to inform him she is preparing to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, following other world leaders that have recommended Trump for the accolade he has long sought, broadcaster NTV reported on Tuesday, citing government sources.

Those gestures may temper any Trump demands for Tokyo to spend more on defending islands from an increasingly assertive China, which Takaichi sought to head off by pledging last week to fast track plans to increase defence spending to 2% of GDP.

"It's a very strong handshake," Trump said, as the pair posed for photos at the Akasaka Palace in downtown Tokyo, before Trump was guided into the ballroom for an honour guard.

They were earlier heard chatting about late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a close political ally of Takaichi who struck up a bond with Trump in his first term during hours spent golfing together.

"He was a great friend of mine and a great friend of yours," Trump said to Takaichi as he entered the palace.

Trump was last at the palace, an ornate residence built in a European style, in 2019 for talks with Abe, who was assassinated in 2022.

He received a royal welcome shortly after his arrival on Monday, meeting with Japanese Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace.

GIFTING ABE'S GOLF CLUB

During their meeting, Takaichi will present Trump with one of Abe's golf clubs in a gesture meant to rekindle the close bond the two leaders had formed on golf courses in Japan and the United States, a source familiar with the plan told Reuters.

The source sought anonymity as they were not allowed to speak to the media.

A similar close relationship with the leader of Japan's key security and trade partner could help Takaichi bolster her weak political position at home.

Though she has seen a surge in public support since becoming prime minister, her coalition government is two votes shy of a majority in parliament's lower house.

On Tuesday afternoon Trump and Takaichi will visit the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka near Tokyo, which is home to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, part of the U.S. military's powerful presence in the region.

Trump will meet business leaders in Tokyo, before travelling on Wednesday to South Korea. In talks there with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said he hopes to seal a trade war truce between the world's two biggest economies.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly, Trevor Hunnicutt, John Geddie, Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Lincoln Feast)