Tokyo, Sept. 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in New York on Tuesday, government sources said. Takaichi, who will visit New York for four days from Monday to attend the U.N. General Assembly, hopes to exchange views on China with Trump and demonstrate the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance ahead of the U.S. leader’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday. The prime minister is also set to meet with other world leaders attending the General Assembly on Tuesday. She is slated to hold a press conference for Japanese and foreign media after her address at the U.N. body the same day. Trump is scheduled to deliver an address that day as well. The Japan-U.S. summit was proposed by Tokyo and will take place amid speculation that Trump may seek to secure economic benefits in his summit with Xi to tout his administration’s diplomatic achievements, as his approval ratings remain low and his Republican Party is expected to face a tough battle in the November midterm elections. With Japan’s relations with China still strained over Takaichi’s remark on a possible Taiwan contingency, the prime minister hopes to reiterate Tokyo’s stance on China-related issues in her meeting with Trump in order to prevent the Trump-Xi summit from producing an outcome unfavorable to Japan. The agenda for the Japan-U.S. summit may also include U.S. sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national. Tokyo emphasizes the rule of law and supports the ICC, while Washington aims to dismantle the organization. It remains to be seen how Takaichi will address the issue. At a press conference on Friday, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara noted that this year marks the 70th anniversary of Japan’s accession to the United Nations. The prime minister will “reiterate Japan’s commitment to multilateralism centered on the United Nations” in her General Assembly address, Kihara said. Takaichi’s speech will be “a meaningful opportunity to explain Japan’s stance on challenges facing the international community and contributions to addressing them, as well as to clarify Japan’s efforts and policies on global issues and U.N. reform,” Kihara added. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
