Tuesday marked the start of one of President Donald Trump's busiest days of his Asia trip. He greeted the new Japanese prime minister warmly before speaking to US Marines on an aircraft carrier and interacting with business executives.
Even though Trump is travelling to one of America's strongest friends in Asia, there is a lot of anxiety around his visit. Days after becoming the nation's first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi needs to strengthen her bond with Trump while protecting her nation's economic interests. Trump is attempting to negotiate a trade agreement that would lower US tariffs in exchange for $550 billion in Japanese investment.

Trump complimented Takaichi when they shook hands during their Tuesday meeting, saying, "That's a very strong handshake."
Takaichi agreed to witness the US World Series third game before to the tournament in exchange. She said Japan would provide pyrotechnics from Akita Prefecture for July 4 celebrations and 250 cherry trees for Washington next year to commemorate America's 250th anniversary.
In her opening remarks, she referred to her archconservative mentor, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who became close to Trump during his first term because they both played golf.
She remarked, "In actuality, Prime Minister Abe frequently told me about your dynamic diplomacy."

Trump emphasised the US commitment to Japan by calling her position as Japan's first female prime minister a "big deal." Despite his history of publicly reprimanding foreign leaders, the president was all praise for Tackaichi.
"We will do everything in our power to support Japan," Trump declared. "At the highest level, we are allies."
Takaichi is prepared to launch a charm assault, which might involve buying Ford F-150 pickups. When reporters arrived for the event, they were pushed past a gold-hued Ford F-150 and what looked like white Toyota cars built in the United States parked outside the Akasaka Palace, Tokyo's guest home for foreign leaders.

Trump has frequently lamented that American cars, which are frequently too broad to be useful on Japan's winding streets, are not purchased in Japan.
The implementation of an agreement for the "golden age" of their countries' partnership was signed by both leaders. Although the agreement's content was ambiguous, it was less than one page long when it was signed.
A second agreement that outlined a US-Japan framework for assuring the supply of rare earths and key minerals was subsequently signed by Trump and Takaichi.
Trump is speaking on board the USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier anchored at an American military station close to Tokyo, despite the fact that his foreign policy towards Asia has centred on commerce and tariffs.

Trump landed in Tokyo on Monday and had a formal meeting with the monarch. He had previously attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Trump used the event to commemorate a broader ceasefire deal between Thailand and Cambodia, which engaged in combat along their disputed border earlier this year. By threatening to revoke trade deals, Trump had put pressure on them to cease their conflict.
Ahead of Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping's scheduled meeting later this week in South Korea, there were indications that tensions between the US and China were also defusing.

A trade agreement was being negotiated, according to top negotiators from both nations, which might avert a potentially harmful conflict between the two biggest economies in the world.
There were few specifics, and it was unclear whether any deal would bring the relationship back to its pre-conflict state or how much it would address long-standing problems. Trump responded by imposing tariffs that, even he acknowledges, would be unsustainable after China reorganised the shipment of rare earth elements that are essential for high-tech production.
On Wednesday, Trump is expected to depart for South Korea, the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.