Copyright NBC News
Service members and press are awaiting Trump aboard the USS George Washington in Yokosuka, Japan. The president will deliver remarks from the aircraft carrier during a visit to the Yokosuka Naval Base today. Earlier, the crowd heard remarks from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who arrived in Tokyo today as part of a larger Asia trip. Later today, Trump and Hegseth will attend a dinner with business leaders in Tokyo. Trump praised Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister, saying the United States and Japan are allies “at the strongest level” as the two leaders signed agreements on trade and critical minerals. “We’re going to do tremendous trade together, I think, more than ever before,” he said before their bilateral meeting. Trump also said he appreciated Japan’s efforts to increase its military capacity and buy more U.S. defense equipment. “Any favors you need, anything I can do to help Japan, we will be there,” he said. Takaichi, who said last week that Japan would increase its defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product by March, two years ahead of schedule, said that together with Trump, Japan was “ready to contribute towards peace and stability.” Takaichi gave Trump a golf bag signed by Japanese major winner Hideki Matsuyama and a putter that belonged to assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a close ally of Trump who was also Takaichi’s mentor. Trump’s assistant Margo Martin posted a video of the two leaders with the gifts on X. Speaking before his meeting with Takaichi, Trump said Abe was “a great friend of mine.” His killing in 2022 was “so shocking,” Trump told Takaichi, “but he spoke so well of you even before we knew what was going to happen in your ascension.” A man accused of fatally shooting Abe is set to go on trial today in the western Japanese city of Nara, where Abe was killed while he was giving a speech during an election campaign. In a final event at the Akasaka Palace, Trump and Takaichi posed for a photo with Japanese families whose loved ones were abducted by North Korea in the 1960s and ’70s. Though some were later returned to Japan, the Japanese government continues to press North Korea to provide full details about everyone who was abducted and return any who are still alive. “The U.S. is with them all the way,” Trump said of Japan’s efforts. Asked whether he would speak with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un about the abductions, Trump said, “We’ll be discussing it.”
