Trump says Japan’s Takaichi his ‘biggest fan’ among world leaders
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- Trump said on June 17 at a post-G-7 press conference in the French spa resort of Evian-les-Bains that Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi is his "biggest fan" among world leaders, adding "Japan's doing very well" and that she "thinks I did a great job."
- Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister, has refrained from criticizing Trump over the Iran war and other thorny issues, unlike other G-7 leaders, and told him during their March White House meeting that he is "the only person who can bring peace and prosperity across the world."
- Trump was asked at the press conference whether he had called on G-7 members including Britain, Germany, and Japan to send their armed forces in connection with the Strait of Hormuz.
- The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since shortly after the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran at the end of February.
- The US and Iran reached a preliminary peace deal just before the G-7 summit that extends the ceasefire for another 60 days and commits Tehran to reopening the waterway.
- Trump said the US does not necessarily need other countries' support on Iran but expressed disappointment they did not act earlier, noting "Japan was not willing to get involved during the war."
Why it matters: Takaichi's refusal to criticize Trump sets her apart from every other G-7 leader and makes Japan the US's most reliable Western partner on Iran — a diplomatic alignment that gives Tokyo leverage as Washington seeks international backing for the nascent US-Iran peace deal and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
