Saadet Gokce
19 March 2026•Update: 19 March 2026
ISTANBUL
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Thursday that she has brought “specific proposals to calm down global markets” to the White House amid the ongoing armed conflict in the Middle East.
“We are actually experiencing a very severe security environment,” with the situation in the Middle East and the entire world, while “the global economy is now about to experience a huge hit because of this development,” said Takaichi ahead of her summit with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
“But even against that backdrop, I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world,” Takaichi told Trump.
“To do so, I am ready to reach out to many of the partners in the international community to achieve our objective together,” she added, emphasizing her reason for the visit as “to directly convey this message.”
Takaichi was earlier welcomed by Trump to the White House for a day of meetings.
Speaking on Iran, Takaichi said: “Iran's development of nuclear weapons must never be allowed, and that is why we, Japan, have been urging them and also reaching out to other partners in the world.”
Regional tensions in the Middle East have escalated since Israel and the US launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing so far more than 1,200 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile attacks across the region and has effectively closed for most ships the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil transit route that normally handles about 20 million barrels per day, and roughly 20% of global liquefied natural gas trade.
Takachi condemned Iran’s actions such as “attacking the neighboring region and also the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”
The Japanese prime minister said the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region “is also becoming increasingly severe.”
She said that Trump has shown “deep trust in Japan,” and “unwavering commitment to the Japan-US Alliance,” which she thanked him for.
“I also brought specific proposals to calm down the global energy market,” she added.
Japan relies on the Middle East for some 90% of its energy needs and has already begun releasing oil from its strategic reserves amid disruption in supplies due to the ongoing Iran war.
Takaichi also said she was looking forward to her discussion with Trump on “focusing on our collaboration in economic security, in the important areas such as energy and rare earth minerals,” as well as “how we can make our two economies stronger moving forward.”
Meanwhile, Trump said that “you don't want to signal too much,” when asked by a reporter why the US did not tell its allies about the Iran war.
“You know, when we go in, we went in very hard, and we didn't tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise in Japan?” said Trump.
“Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” he said in response to the question from a Japanese journalist.
Trump also said that Japan is “really stepping up to the plate, unlike the NATO,” referring to Tokyo’s support for Washington’s actions on Iran.
He also said that the US expects Japan to “step up” in the future, “because we have that kind of relationship and we step up with Japan. We have 45,000 soldiers in Japan. We spend a lot of money in Japan. I expect that kind of relationship.”
Trump also directed a question regarding China to Takaichi, saying that “they have a little bit of an edgy relationship.”
“Japan has been consistently open to dialogue with China,” said Takaichi on relations with Beijing. “We have been addressing our relations with China in a calm manner.”
