Tokyo seeks to protect its interests ahead of Trump-Xi summit, analysts say

Tokyo is determined to ensure its vital interests are not traded away when US and Chinese leaders meet later this week, analysts say

When Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets US President Donald Trump in New York on Tuesday, the leader casting the longest shadow over the meeting will not even be in the building.

Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday – two days after Takaichi meets the US leader on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. It will be Xi’s first state visit to the US in over 10 years.

Faced with an unpredictable American president eager for tangible results ahead of what could be a tough November midterm election, Japan is working to ensure its vital interests are not traded away at the Xi-Trump summit.

The Takaichi-Trump talks will unfold amid frosty ties between Tokyo and Beijing. Takaichi’s remarks last November that an attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan infuriated Beijing and sparked months of diplomatic freeze.