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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Patrick Wintour in Tokyo

Will Japan’s close ties with US survive the caprice and quirks of Donald Trump?

A composite design featuring pictures of Donald Trump and Shigeru Ishiba.
A composite design featuring pictures of Donald Trump and Shigeru Ishiba. Composite: Getty/Guardian design

Arguably, no country in Asia has better reason to be in a state of anxiety over the return of Donald Trump to the White House than Japan, since the US has been the linchpin of Japanese foreign and security policy since the second world war.

Back in 2017, well before he became prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba described Trump’s method as one of “placing his counterpart in a state of anxiety and tension, creating psychological instability and then initiating a deal”.

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