Trump set to arrive in Japan, where he’ll meet new Prime Minister Takaichi

President Donald Trump arrives Monday in Japan where new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is banking on building a friendly personal relationship with the US leader to ease trade tensions.
The meeting is an early diplomatic test for Takaichi, the first woman to lead Japan. She took office only last week, and has a tenuous coalition backing her.
Trump spent Sunday in Malaysia, where he participated in a regional summit.
Trump said he would talk about the “great friendship” between the US and Japan during his visit.
“I hear phenomenal things” about the new Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, Trump said. He noted her closeness with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom Trump had a good relationship during his first term.
“It’s going to be very good,” he said. “That really helps Japan and the United States.”
Trade has been Trump’s focus in Asia
There’s no shortage of security issues in the region, including access to the South China Sea and the future of Taiwan. But Trump’s focus has undoubtedly been trade and his desire to realign the international economy in his vision of “America first.”
For the most part, that means tariffs, or at least the threat of them. Trump has frequently used taxes on imports — from allies and adversaries alike — in an effort to boost domestic manufacturing or seek more favorable terms.
However, his unilateral power to enact tariffs remains contested. Trump is awaiting a Supreme Court case that could solidify his authority or limit it.
Trump’s last stop was Malaysia
The president is flying to Tokyo from Kuala Lumpur, where he attended the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He participated in a ceremonial signing of an expanded ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, which fought earlier this year. Trump helped pressure both countries to stop by threatening to withhold trade agreements.
The summit is not a guaranteed part of any president’s itinerary, but it was an opportunity for Trump to reengage with a critical region for the first time since returning to office.
In addition, American and Chinese negotiators used the summit to advance trade talks, with the potential for an agreement that would reduce tensions between the world’s two largest economies later this week.
Trump congratulates Argentina’s Milei on midterms success
While on his way to Japan, Trump posted on Truth Social that Argentine President Javier Milei was “doing a wonderful job” as his party beat expectations in midterm elections.
“Our confidence in him was justified by the People of Argentina,” Trump wrote.
Trump ally Milei essentially received a vote of confidence to pursue his policies to break long-standing inflation and economic problems in Argentina. A libertarian seeking to unlock free-market forces, Milei has endeared himself to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement with an appearance this year at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the US
The Trump administration provided a $20 billion credit swap line to bolster Milei ahead of the election and was looking to provide an additional $20 billion to support the value of Argentina’s peso.
Japan tightens security ahead of Trump’s arrival
Japan’s capital saw heightened security ahead of US President Donald Trump’s arrival on Monday. Tokyo’s metropolitan police set up a special taskforce and mobilized some 18,000 officers.
At Tokyo’s Haneda airport, where Trump will arrive, all lockers and garbage bins were closed or removed.
In downtown Tokyo, vehicles were checked and police dogs were stationed near the US Embassy, where riot police were also deployed. One man was arrested for allegedly carrying knives outside the embassy.
Trump departs Malaysia for Japan
Trump is moving on to the second leg of his Asia tour, boarding Air Force One for Japan after time in Kuala Lumpur for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.
The US president didn’t talk to gathered reporters as he walked the red carpet and watched dancers as he made his way to the airplane.
Still, the president felt his time in Malaysia was productive, calling it a “very vibrant” nation in a post on his social media site. Trump noted the ceasefire agreement signed between Thailand and Cambodia as well as trade frameworks that were part of his time with leaders.
“Now, off to Japan!!!” Trump said on Truth Social.

LIMA: Peru’s Congress voted to declare Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum persona non grata on Thursday, after her country granted asylum to a former Peruvian prime minister on trial for allegedly aiding a 2022 coup attempt.
The two Latin American countries have had strained diplomatic relations for years, but tensions rose on Monday when Mexico granted asylum to ex-PM Betssy Chavez, prompting Peru to break off formal ties.
Chavez was Peru’s prime minister in December 2022 when then-president Pedro Castillo was ousted for trying to dissolve Congress following a months-long standoff.
The declaration against Sheinbaum was passed on Thursday in a 63-33 vote by Peru’s Congress, which also recently removed Castillo’s highly unpopular successor, Dina Boluarte.
Fernando Rospigliosi, the right-wing acting Congress president, said “it has been clearly established” that Sheinbaum interfered in Peru’s affair, “not only in words” but also by granting Chavez asylum.
Socialist lawmaker Jaime Quito meanwhile criticized the measure, saying “once again, they are making an international embarrassment by breaking relations with our sister country Mexico.”
Following the breakdown in diplomatic relations, interim president Jose Jeri announced on Monday night that Mexico’s top diplomat in Peru had been given a “strict deadline to leave.”
Relations between Lima and Mexico deteriorated sharply over the ouster of Castillo, a former rural schoolteacher and trade unionist dubbed Peru’s “first poor president.”
Back in December 2022 Castillo was on his way to the Mexican embassy in Lima to request asylum together with his family when he was arrested and charged with rebellion and abuse of authority.
Chavez was charged alongside him, and the pair went on trial in March.
While Castillo has been in preventive custody since his impeachment, Chavez was released on bail.
She has taken up asylum at the Mexican ambassador’s residence as Peru’s Foreign Ministry evaluates a request for safe passage to Mexico.
Prosecutors had sought a 25-year term for Chavez for allegedly participating in Castillo’s plan.
They have sought a 34-year sentence for Castillo.

Trump set to arrive in Japan, where he’ll meet new Prime Minister Takaichi