From tariffs to military defense, the two leaders discussed policies meant to maximize benefits to both nations.
President Donald Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Feb. 7 to discuss trade policies and strengthen military partnership.
“Japan is strong and proud,” Trump said. “It’s a nation that is home to one of the great civilizations in the history of the world.”
He said the two countries will support each other and their “alliance will continue to flourish.”
Bilateral discussions covered a variety of topics, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other innovative technologies, he said.
Other priorities include countering “Chinese economic aggression” and the regime’s activities in the Indo-Pacific region and the Taiwan Strait, according to the president.
Increased military cooperation will help resist attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to influence the region, the two leaders said.
Trump also announced that he approved $1 billion in military sales to Tokyo in recent days.
Noting that Japan was the largest investor in the United States over the past five years, Ishiba committed to an “unprecedented” $1 trillion investment.
The prime minister described the president as “frightening” and “intimidating” on television but found him “sincere” and “powerful” in person.
U.S. Steel Deal Unblocked
Japanese steel giant Nippon is looking at investing in, rather than purchasing, U.S. Steel, the two leaders announced. President Joe Biden blocked a proposed purchase in January over national security concerns.
Trump said he plans to meet with the head of Nippon next week to discuss the matter.
“I didn’t want it purchased, but investment I love,” the president said.
Negotiating a business partnership with significant investments will boost economic activity and create thousands of jobs, according to the prime minister.
“Investment is mutually beneficial,” Ishiba said. “Japanese technology will be provided, and better quality products will be manufactured in the United States.”
Also contributing to new trade relations are exports of liquid natural gas, and pipelines in Alaska will deliver oil and gas for Japan in a joint venture between the two nations, according to the president.
“It will be record numbers,” Trump said. “That’s very exciting. They’re very excited about it, so are we.”
Under Biden, Japan was not allowed to import American natural gas.
“That was a really unfortunate thing,” Ishiba said.
He thanked Trump for reversing the policy on his first days back in office.
The prime minister said Japan is also interested in importing bioethanol, ammonia, and other natural resources.
Trump said the news will make farmers that grow the corn to produce ethanol “very, very happy.”
Reciprocal Tariffs
As part of the president’s so-called “external revenue service,” a series of tariff policies announced in recent days will be expanded next week, he announced.
Nations that impose tariffs on U.S. products can expect similar treatment, according to Trump.
“Where a country … charges us so much, and we do the same,” Trump said. “I think that’s the only fair way to do it. That way, nobody’s hurt.”
He blasted unfair tariff policies and persistent trade deficits as detrimental to the economy and vowed to “stabilize” imports and exports.
The U.S. trade deficit with Japan, which according to the Census Bureau was $68 billion in 2024, is an issue he intends to balance “very quickly” through oil and gas sales.
Ishiba said: “We also want to improve the trade deficit that the U.S. has with Japan.”
Retaliatory Tariffs?
With discussions of tariffs abundant, the Japanese prime minister declined to say if he would retaliate if the U.S. imposes levies on imports.
“I am unable to respond to a theoretical question,” Ishiba said. “That’s the official answer that we have.”
The quick response was met with laughter from the press and officials in attendance, and the president congratulated Ishiba for the “smart answer.”
DOGE Inquiries Widen
Trump also addressed some domestic issues during the briefing.
The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency is now looking into the Pentagon and the Department of Education, including the review of trillions of dollars being “absolutely wasted and perhaps illegally,” according to the president.
“We have to take some of these things apart to find the corruption,” Trump said. “We’re going to be looking at tremendous amounts of money being spent on things that bear no relationship to anything and have no value.”
He said the government transparency is needed to properly serve Americans.
Highlighting recent discoveries that the U.S. Agency for International Development funneled billions of dollars to projects deemed “wasteful,” which led to the president’s decision to shut down the agency effective Feb. 7, Trump said more investigations are needed to uncover improper payouts.
“It’s absolutely obscene, dangerous, bad, very costly,” he said. “Virtually every investment made is a con job. There’s nothing of value to anybody unless there’s a kickback scheme going on, which is possible.”
Regarding the Department of Education, he said states should control their schools and set policies that best benefit students.
“Great states that do so well, have no debt, they’ll be as good as … the highly ranked countries, and the rest will come along, they’ll have to come along,” Trump said. “We’ll be spending a lot less money, and we’ll have great education.”
The president lamented the fact that the U.S. school system is ranked last out of 40 nations but tops the list in terms of cost per pupil.
He also vowed to identify illegal immigrants that are receiving Social Security and Medicare benefits and put an end to the payments.
Jan. 6 Investigators’ Future in Question
Some of the FBI agents who participated in investigations of individuals demonstrating at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, will be dismissed, according to the president.
“I’ll fire some of them, because some of them were corrupt,” Trump said. “I got to know a lot about that world, and we had some corrupt agents, and those people are gone, or they will be gone.”
He said the process would be conducted “quickly and surgically” to restore the public’s confidence in federal agencies.
“We’re going to bring back the reputation of the FBI, which has been hurt very badly,” Trump said. “It’s been devastated over the last four years.”