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Agence France-Presse

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will visit the White House on March 19, President Donald Trump said on Thursday, praising the Asian country’s first female leader ahead of weekend snap elections she is expected to win.
Takaichi “has already proven to be a strong, powerful, and wise Leader, and one that truly loves her Country”, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social as he announced her visit next month.
The United States and Japan have been working to strike a “very substantial” deal on trade, as well as collaborating on national security, Trump said, offering his “Complete and Total Endorsement”.
“Prime Minister Takaichi is someone who deserves powerful recognition for the job she and her Coalition are doing,” he added.
Polls point to a resounding win in Sunday’s elections for Takaichi’s conservatives after a honeymoon start.
Takaichi, 64, a heavy metal drummer in her youth and an admirer of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, became Japan’s fifth premier in as many years in October.
She inherited a moribund Liberal Democratic Party deserted en masse by voters in part because of inflation and a recent slush fund scandal.
Despite her ultraconservative policies, Takaichi boasts overwhelming support among young people, in a country where politics has long been determined by the ageing vote.


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US-Japan relations

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Thursday. The country’s first female leader will visit the White House next month, it was confirmed on Thursday. Photo: EPA

Youth support puts Japan’s Sanae Takaichi on track for landslide

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi holds up her personal pen at a House of Representatives session in November last year. Photo: Kyodo/AP

A worker stitches a leather bag at the Hamano factory in Miyota on Monday. Photo: Reuters

People wait for the arrival of Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during an election campaign event in Higashimatsuyama, Saitama prefecture, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Japan-North Korea summit rumours link Takaichi to shock visit ahead of vote

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers a speech in support for a local candidate at a campaign rally near Tokyo on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Voters cast ballots in Tokyo during the 2025 upper house election. Japan’s prime minister may visit North Korea over abductee talks, depending on election results. Photo: Kyodo

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae speaks at a Tokyo rally in November 2025 urging North Korea to return abductees. Photo: Kyodo

Kim Jong-un speaks at a meeting of the Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea in December 2025. The North Korean leader may negotiate abductee returns. Photo: EPA/KCNA 

Megumi Yokota’s mother, Sakie – pictured in 2018 – renewed her call for politicians to take bold action to bring her daughter home. Photo: Reuters

Beyond China, Asia will bear the brunt as US builds walls around tech capital

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at the USA House at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 21. Photo: AP

The US Department of the Treasury building in Washington on November 18, 2024. Photo: AP

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung takes a selfie with China’s President Xi Jinping after a dinner at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on January 5. Photo: Yonhap/AFP

Japan, UK agree collaboration on outer space, critical mineral supply chains

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer shakes hands with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a press conference after their bilateral meeting in Tokyo on Saturday. Photo: via dpa

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi welcomes UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer with military honours in Tokyo. Photo: via dpa

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: via dpa

Canada wants a middle-power alliance. Will Asia-Pacific sign up?

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last month. Photo: TNS

US President Donald Trump (left) meets with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office in May 2025. Photo: TNS

US President Donald Trump (left) shakes hands with Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto at the “Board of Peace” meeting in Davos, Switzerland last month. Photo: AFP

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Diplomacy

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The US and Japan have been working to strike a ‘very substantial’ deal on trade, as well as collaborating on national security, Trump said


The US and Japan have been working to strike a ‘very substantial’ deal on trade, as well as collaborating on national security, Trump said.


Trump announces White House visit by Japanese PM Takaichi on March 19

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The US and Japan have been working to strike a ‘very substantial’ deal on trade, as well as collaborating on national security, Trump said

The US and Japan have been working to strike a ‘very substantial’ deal on trade, as well as collaborating on national security, Trump said