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BackTrump and Xi Invoke WWII Alliance Against Japan, Unsettling Tokyo
Trump and Xi Invoke WWII Alliance Against Japan, Unsettling Tokyo
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SCMP Economy52 minutes agoPolitics1 min readChina

Trump and Xi Invoke WWII Alliance Against Japan, Unsettling Tokyo

trumpxi jinpingsanae takaichi

Quick Look

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping repeatedly referenced their countries' World War II alliance against Japan during a White House summit, causing concern in Tokyo and prompting Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to seek a phone call with Trump.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

The United States and China were allies during World War II in the fight against Japan, a historical fact rarely emphasized in recent US-China relations.

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Both presidents harked back at the summit to when their countries fought side by side against Japan, generating unease in Tokyo

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Published: 11:00am, 26 Sep 2026

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is reportedly trying to arrange a phone call with Donald Trump following the US president’s nostalgic invocation of the alliance with China during World War II, references that sent shock waves through Tokyo.

Trump made the references as he welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for his first state visit to Washington in over a decade.

Both Trump and Xi repeatedly invoked their nations’ wartime alliance against Japan in their remarks – an unusual historical reference that immediately unsettled Tokyo.

Takaichi said on Friday that Tokyo and Washington were “allies bound by very strong ties” based on mutual trust. But she pointedly declined to comment on the Trump-Xi summit.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

  • Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will arrange a phone call with Donald Trump to address concerns over the WWII alliance references.

    Likely · Within days

Open Questions

  • Will Trump follow up on the WWII alliance references in future policy toward China?
  • How will Japan respond to the renewed emphasis on the US-China historical alliance?
  • Is there a planned phone call between Trump and Takaichi to address Tokyo's concerns?

Related Topics

trump
PeopleDonald TrumpXi JinpingSanae Takaichi
OrganizationsOffice of the President of the United StatesOffice of the President of ChinaOffice of the Prime Minister of Japan
PlacesUnited StatesChinaJapanWhite House
Topicsxi jinpingsanae takaichiworld war iius-china relationsjapanwhite house summit
This article was originally published by SCMP Economy.

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