Iran conflict looms large over Takaichi's upcoming summit with Trump, experts say
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The topic of Iran is likely to dominate Thursday's meeting, instead of investments or the U.S.' role in Asia, experts told CNBC.
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As Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi travels to Washington for her first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump stateside, the Iran conflict will loom large over their meeting. The Japanese PM's meeting with Trump on Thursday will be her first after she led the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to victory in February, its largest electoral win since World War II . Stephen Nagy, professor of politics and international studies at Tokyo's International Christian University told CNBC over email that "Takaichi will do what all Japanese PMs do, reaffirm that the Japan-U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of Japan's security but also to the peace and stability of the free and open Indo-Pacific region." But the topic of Iran is likely to dominate the meeting, experts told CNBC. Iran conflict Before the conflict with Tehran started on Feb. 28, Takaichi's meeting was expected to focus on Japan's investment in the U.S., increasing defence spending, and to talk about the now-postponed summit between Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping. That's according to Jeffery Hornung, Japan Lead for the National Security Research Division at RAND, a U.S. based think-tank. The original plan was to come "bearing gifts", showing how Japan is a very forward leaning partner in defense and economically, Hornung said in a phone interview. "But the big uncertainty is, how much will the war in Iran dominate the President's thinking on that day?" "I do think that it would be hard not to talk about having Japan contribute in some capacity, given that it does depend on the Strait for over 90% of its oil imports." Jeffery Hornung Japan Lead, National Security Research Division, RAND In a Truth Social post, the U.S. president called on allies including Japan to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, justifying that it would benefit them more than Washington. So far, no country has publicly committed to support Trump's efforts . "I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, bec...
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