Takaichi to discuss Iran with Trump at summit in U.S. this month
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tuesday she will discuss Iran when she meets with U.S. President Donald Trump later this month in Washington.
“At the upcoming Japan-U.S. summit meeting, we will have deepened discussions on the Middle East — including Iran — and the increasingly severe international situation,” Takaichi said during questioning at a Lower House Budget Committee meeting.
Japan has found itself in a tough position amid the United States’ ongoing joint military strikes on Iran with Israel, as Tokyo seeks to balance its strong support for the rules-based global order with its need to maintain its robust alliance with Washington.
After the U.S. and Israel on Saturday unleashed their militaries on Iran — strikes that have killed scores of senior officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — the Japanese government was quick to state its position, one that has offered a degree of understanding for the attacks.
Again queried about the legality of the attacks, which some experts have said fly in the face of international law, Takaichi reiterated Japan’s stance — one focused on Iran’s nuclear weapons development, which she again called “absolutely unacceptable.”
“Peace and stability in the Middle East, including energy security, and the maintenance of the international nuclear nonproliferation regime are of utmost importance to Japan,” she said, adding that Tokyo will “make every necessary diplomatic effort, in coordination with the international community, to bring about an early resolution of the situation (in Iran).”
But the prime minister pointedly dodged questions that could potentially throw a wrench into her summit with Trump scheduled for March 19, including a request for a timeline on when the government’s views may be made available.
“At this stage, I can’t state when a legal assessment of the (Iran) situation will be made,” she said. “Each country has its own position, and the facts and details are not clear.”
The Trump administration has sent conflicting messages about the rationale for war with Iran and how long it might last, as the widening conflict reverberates across the Middle East and upends energy markets crucial to Japan.
By joining Israel in the ongoing joint strikes over the weekend, Trump bypassed congressional approval for the attacks and thumbed his nose at the United Nations, instead pointing to Iran’s nuclear weapons and missile programs and the need to ensure America’s long-term security.
Those moves are seen as at odds with what has been a key tenet of Japan’s foreign policy — respect for the rule of law and fierce opposition to unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force.
Japan’s concerns over China’s rising military and economic assertiveness in the region has been a key driver of this stance and has prompted repeated condemnations of China’s moves near democratic Taiwan, which it claims as its own, and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
(source: japantimes.co.jp)