U.S. President Endorses Japan's 'Iron Lady' PM Ahead of Elections

Reuters

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gestures as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday gave his “total endorsement” to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ahead of Japan’s national election, adding that he looked forward to welcoming her to the White House next month.

Japan’s first female prime minister, a conservative who has said she draws inspiration from Britain’s “Iron Lady”, Margaret Thatcher, is widely expected to secure a convincing victory for her ruling coalition, according to opinion polls. Takaichi is seeking a public mandate for spending plans that have unsettled investors, as well as for a defence build-up that could further strain relations with China.

Polls suggest that Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party, together with its coalition partner the Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), could win around 300 seats in the 465-seat lower house of parliament — a significant increase from the narrow majority the coalition currently holds.

"Prime Minister Takaichi is someone who deserves powerful recognition for the job she and her Coalition are doing," President Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.

"It is my Honor to give a Complete and Total Endorsement of her, and what her highly respected Coalition is representing."

Unlike his predecessors, President Trump has increasingly sought to influence foreign elections. Analysts say his support for Takaichi, 64 — a nationalist and defence hawk — reflects a broader pattern of alignment with right-wing leaders overseas.

On Thursday, Trump endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ahead of an election scheduled for April, and last year he backed Argentine President Javier Milei, citing U.S. financial support as a contributing factor to Milei’s success in Argentina’s 2025 legislative elections.

Japanese government spokesman Kei Sato declined to comment on President Trump’s endorsement, but confirmed that Trump had invited Prime Minister Takaichi to visit Washington on 19 March.

"Amid a rapidly changing international situation, the visit is expected to provide an opportunity to reaffirm the unwavering bonds of the Japan–U.S. alliance," Sato told a regular press conference.

One of Prime Minister Takaichi’s first engagements after assuming office in October was to host President Trump in Tokyo.

During the visit, she presented him with a golf putter once used by his former golfing companion, the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Praised by President Trump for breaking Japan’s glass ceiling, Takaichi pledged billions of dollars in investment during the meeting, which analysts said helped underscore the strength of the Japan–U.S. alliance.

Weeks later, however, she triggered Japan’s most serious diplomatic dispute with China in more than a decade by publicly outlining how Tokyo might respond to a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan.

Prime Minister Takaichi’s plans to bolster Japan’s defences are also expected to further anger Beijing, which has portrayed her policies as an attempt to revive Japan’s past militarism.

While tensions with China are beginning to weigh on the world’s fourth-largest economy, they have done little to dent Takaichi’s strong approval ratings. She has even become an unlikely cultural icon for some voters, with items such as her handbag and the pink pen she uses in parliament reportedly selling briskly.

Source: Reuters



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