Morning Jolt: The Odd-Couple Relationship of Trump and Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba

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WITH JIM GERAGHTY

February 07 2025

The Odd-Couple Relationship of Trump and Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba

On the menu today: Just about every foreign leader on the globe is trying to figure out how to have a smooth relationship with Donald Trump, and today Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's prime minister, comes to Washington for his first face-to-face meeting with the president. In some ways, this is a feather in the cap of the Japanese, to be the second foreign leader meeting with Trump. But as we saw this week when Bibi Netanyahu visited, you never know what Trump is going to say or do at these meetings — and the personality difference between Ishiba and Trump is about as far apart as it gets. Read on for the stakes of this meeting and the potential bumps in the road for the U.S.–Japanese relationship. Plus, why your eggs are so expensive lately.

Mr. Ishiba Comes to Washington

Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba will meet with Donald Trump at the White House today, the second foreign leader to meet the president in this term, after Israeli Prime Minster Bibi Netanyahu.

When a foreign leader meets with a U.S. president, the visiting foreign ministry likes to have a clear gameplan for how the discussions will progress. Japanese leaders are ...

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