1 of 2 | U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (R) attend the Japan-U.S. summit meeting at Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday. The two leaders signed trade and critical minerals deals to mark “a new golden age of the Japan-U.S. alliance.” Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/POOL PHOTO
President Donald Trump met with Japan’s first female prime minister Tuesday in Tokyo to mark “a new golden age of the Japan-U.S. alliance,” before signing a deal on trade and a second agreement on critical minerals.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who was elected prime minister just last week, pledged to build a “new golden era,” calling the bilateral relationship “the greatest alliance in the world.” Takaichi also praised Trump for his role in securing global cease-fires.
“Mr. President succeeded in securing a cease-fire deal between Thailand and Cambodia … also, the deal you have recently achieved in the Middle East is an unprecedented, historic achievement,” Takaichi said during Tuesday’s meeting.
Trump told Takaichi that she would be “one of the great prime ministers,” while praising Japan as “a great ally.”
“I want to just let you know, any time you have any question, any doubt, anything you want, any favors you need, anything I can do to help Japan, we will be there,” Trump said. “This will be a relationship that will be stronger than any before and I look forward to working with you and on behalf of our country.”
President Trump Participates in a Signing Ceremony with the Prime Minister of Japan https://t.co/Vwo8a77mId— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 28, 2025
During their meeting, Trump and Takaichi signed two new deals. The first deal ushers in a new “golden age” of U.S.-Japan relations and secures cooperation between the two allies to “strengthen economic security, promote economic growth and thereby continuously lead to global prosperity.”
The second agreement covers critical minerals and provides a framework to boost the supply and production of rare earths between the United States and Japan.
Trump and Takaichi agreed “to support the supply of raw and processed critical minerals and rare earths crucial to the domestic industries of the United States and Japan,” according to a joint statement.
The Trump administration has been working to diversify U.S. minerals, which are used in the production of electronics and military equipment. The United States is also working to reduce its reliance on China, which has a near-monopoly on global rare-earth supplies. Meanwhile, much of Japan’s critical minerals are underwater and difficult to mine.
The United States has signed a number of minerals deals, to include Malaysia, Thailand and Australia, in an effort to break China’s hold on supplies. Trump will be meeting with China’s president later this week.
This is the second leg of Trump’s three-nation Asia tour, which includes Malaysia. On Monday, Trump met with Japanese Emperor Naruhito in Tokyo. Their meeting lasted for more than half an hour with Trump calling him “a great man.”
On Wednesday, Trump is scheduled to travel from Japan to South Korea, where he will meet with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The president has said he would be willing to extend his trip in South Korea if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would agree to meet with him.
