2025.11.25 11:00 (Updated 2025.11.25) | Liu Youlong
US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. (White House)
Following the late-night phone call between the leaders of the United States and China on the 24th, the diplomatic effects quickly spilled over into Japan-US relations. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed today (the 25th) that she had spoken with US President Trump earlier that day, and that Trump had initiated the meeting to explain the content of the US-China dialogue to Japan. Takaichi stated that both sides reaffirmed the "close and solid cooperative relationship" between Japan and the United States during the call.
According to Japanese media reports, Trump briefed Takaichi on the current state of US-China relations during the phone call and mentioned his conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping the previous day. However, the "Taiwan" issue, which has attracted much attention, remained completely absent from Trump's previous social media posts. Takaichi emphasized that the call was requested by the US, indicating that Trump wanted to exchange information with Japan in advance at a sensitive time in US-China interactions.
In the version of the call previously published by China's Xinhua News Agency, Xi Jinping spoke extensively about Taiwan, claiming that "Taiwan's return to China is an important part of the post-war international order," and emphasizing to Trump the "core position" of the Taiwan issue in bilateral relations. However, in the account subsequently released by Trump on Truth Social, he only mentioned issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war, fentanyl, and agricultural products, and announced that he would visit Beijing next April and invited Xi Jinping to visit the United States as a state visit.
Japan's Fuji News Network (FNN) points out that the Trump-Xi call occurred at a time when diplomatic tensions between China and Japan were heightened due to inquiries about a potential "Taiwan emergency." Therefore, Trump's swift call with Kaohsiung City is highly likely related to the synchronicity of Japan's China policy. Whether the US deliberately downplayed the Taiwan issue or offered further explanation to Japan remains to be seen.
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