Ishiba's visit to gratify Washington at cost of neighbors

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba paid his first official visit to the US from Feb 6 to 8, during which he met with US President Donald Trump. Although Trump promised to deepen bilateral economic and security cooperation, he did not rule out the possibility of imposing extra tariffs on Japanese goods in the near future.

The problem is that, by currying security favor with the US, Ishiba is further complicating China-Japan relations.

Ishiba visited the US at a time when domestic and international situations are undergoing dramatic changes. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump asserted that he values the US-Japan alliance. But he also said he expects Japan to take on a greater share of the defense cost. Trump's expectations created a major problem for Ishiba because at the time, he was leading (and still leads) a minority government with a falling job approval rating.