President Donald Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss security, economic growth, and other matters, signing an agreement to support their collaboration.
Under the countries’ critical minerals and rare earths agreement, the U.S. and Japan will move toward a “new golden age.”
The partnership supports the “supply of raw and processed critical minerals and rare earths crucial to the domestic industries of the United States and Japan,” where both countries will “accomplish this through use of economic policy tools and coordinated investment to accelerate development of diversified, liquid, and fair markets for critical minerals and rare earths.”
President Trump said that he is “more confident than ever that the friendship between the United States and Japan is strong, strong as it can be, and it’s thriving, it’s prosperous, and it will soon be, I think, greater than ever before.”
The president also congratulated Takaichi on being the “first woman Prime Minister. That’s a big deal!”
Upon meeting with President Trump, Takaichi wrote on social media, in part, “A new chapter in the golden age of the Japan-U.S. Alliance begins today. Our ironclad, unshakable Alliance and strong economic ties will continue to bring peace and prosperity to our peoples and to the Indo-Pacific.”
Takaichi, 64, secured leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and was confirmed by Japan’s parliament on October 21, 2025. She credited former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as her political inspiration, pledging strong, values-based leadership.
Upon her success, Takaichi said she “unwaveringly believes in the potential of Japan and the Japanese people” and pledged to “take responsibility for pioneering Japan’s future,” make the “Japanese archipelago strong and prosperous,” and expressed a determination to “restore Japanese diplomacy that shines at the center of the world.”
