Trump heaps praise on Japan's first female leader, signs rare earths deal

By Trevor Hunnicutt, Tim Kelly and John Geddie

TOKYO (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump lavished praise on Japan's first female leader Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Tuesday, welcoming the new prime minister's pledge to accelerate a military buildup, while also signing deals on trade and rare earths.

Takaichi, who took office a week ago, is a protegee of Trump's ally and golfing buddy Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was assassinated in 2022. She repeatedly invoked that legacy with gifts and references to the warm ties between the two men, and applauded Trump's push to resolve global conflicts.

Trump's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the Japanese leader also promised to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Both governments released a list of projects in the areas of energy, artificial intelligence and critical minerals in which Japanese companies are eyeing investments of up to $400 billion in the U.S.

Tokyo pledged to provide $550 billion of strategic U.S. investments, loans and guarantees earlier this year as part of a deal to win a reprieve from Trump's punishing import tariffs.

Those gestures may temper any Trump demands for Tokyo to spend more towards its security in the face of an increasingly assertive China, calls Takaichi sought to head off by promising to fast-track plans to increase defence spending to 2% of GDP.

"Everything I know from Shinzo and others, you will be one of the great prime ministers," Trump told Takaichi as they sat down to discussions accompanied by aides at Tokyo's Akasaka Palace. Becoming Japan's first female prime minister was "a big deal", Trump added.

TAKAICHI INVOKES ABE LEGACY

Takaichi repeatedly referred to Abe's affection for Trump and gave him the former prime minister's putter encased in glass, a golf bag signed by Japanese major winner Hideki Matsuyama and a gold-leaf golf ball.

Trump also met Abe's widow, Akie Abe, who gifted him a painting with the words PEACE written in large gold lettering.

Abe was the first foreign leader to meet Trump after his 2016 election victory and the two went on to forge a close bond over several rounds of golf in the United States and Japan.

Over a lunch of U.S. rice and beef, and vegetables from Takaichi's hometown of Nara, she presented Trump with a map of major investments Japanese firms have made in the United States since his last visit in 2019.

Japanese companies on the list of possible future investors included Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, SoftBank , Hitachi, Murata Manufacturing and Panasonic, among others.

Japanese carmaker Toyota would also open auto plants in the United States to the tune of $10 billion, Trump said.

Toyota did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump said Japan also plans to purchase Ford's burly F-150 pickup truck, now rarely seen on the country's narrow roads, a symbol of how far Tokyo is willing to go to win his favour.

DEAL ON CRITICAL MINERALS

Trump praised Japan's efforts to buy more U.S. defence equipment, while Takaichi said his role in securing ceasefires between Cambodia and Thailand, and Israel and Palestinian militants, was an "unprecedented" achievement.

They signed a deal to bolster supplies of critical minerals and rare earths, as their nations seek to reduce China's dominance of some areas of key electronic components.

After lunch, Trump met relatives of people abducted by North Korea in the 1960s and 1970s. While some were later repatriated, Japan continues to press Pyongyang for a full accounting of all the abductees and the return of any who remain alive, a cause championed by Abe.

Trump, who has repeatedly said he is open to meeting North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong Un during his five-day Asia visit, said the U.S. was with the families "all the way".

The U.S. leader began his trip in Malaysia on Sunday, before traveling to Japan late on Monday to receive a royal welcome at the Imperial Palace.

He hopes to cap off his trip, his longest overseas journey since returning to the White House in January, by agreeing a trade war truce with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday.

VISIT TO U.S. NAVAL BASE

Takaichi's efforts to invoke Abe's legacy to forge a bond with Trump could help bolster her vulnerable political position at home and help her navigate Trump's at times erratic decision-making, analysts said.

Though she has seen a surge in public support since becoming prime minister, her coalition government is two votes shy of a majority in parliament's lower house.

Trump and Takaichi later flew on his presidential helicopter to the U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington, docked at the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo.

There Trump delivered an hour-long speech that ranged from topics such as the U.S. southern border to American football.

Flanked by two fighter jets, Trump ushered Takaichi up on stage before 6,000 U.S. sailors.

"This woman is a winner," he said, before Takaichi thanked the forces for helping defend the region. Japan hosts the largest concentration of U.S. military power abroad.

Delivery would begin this week on Japan's long-awaited order of U.S. missiles for F-35 fighter jets, Trump added.

Trump finished up with another meandering speech to business leaders in Tokyo, which included a back-and-forth with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son about a golf match. Trump's advisor Stephen Miller briefly dozed off towards the end.

Trump travels on Wednesday to South Korea to meet President Lee Jae Myung ahead of his planned Thursday summit with Xi.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly, Trevor Hunnicutt, John Geddie, Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Kim Coghill, Peter Graff)