Trump’s lavish praise for Japan’s first female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after he receives grand welcome in Tokyo: ‘That’s a big deal’

President Donald Trump praised Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Tuesday morning for being the first woman to hold the post.

Immediately after the opening meetings, Takaichi said he planned to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Takaichi, who was sworn in last week, was a protégé of the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump’s friend who was assassinated in 2022.

“Shinzo Abe was a great friend of mine, and I was very saddened to see what happened,” Trump told Takaichi during their first face-to-face meeting at Akasaka Palace. ‘It was very shocking.’

Trump, who was welcomed with a magnificent ceremony at the Prime Ministry’s state guesthouse, was then taken to another room where the US and Japanese delegations sat opposite each other.

“But he spoke so well of you, even before you knew what was going to happen with your ascension, he spoke so well of you, long before we even met,” Trump continued. ‘And I’m not surprised to see you’re now prime minister.’

Later, in brief remarks, Trump turned to the history-making part of Takaichi’s resume.

The President said, ‘I would like to congratulate you for becoming the first female prime minister.’ ‘This is a big deal. This is a big deal. I want to congratulate you on this. I think this should be publicised.’

Trump also predicted that Takaichi, who comes from Abe’s essentially conservative Liberal Democratic Party, would be one of Japan’s “greatest prime ministers.”

President Donald Trump (left) and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (right) attend a welcoming ceremony at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday morning, ahead of their first face-to-face meeting.

Speaking through a translator, Takaichi also praised Trump.

“In fact, Prime Minister Abe often told me about your dynamic diplomacy,” he said, pointing to the peace agreement Trump signed between Thailand and Cambodia in Malaysia on Monday.

He also praised Trump’s role in ending the war in Gaza.

‘In such a short time, the world began to experience more peace on the ground,’ he said. ‘And in this context, I highly value your unwavering commitment to peace and stability.’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later told reporters that Takaichi told Trump he would nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

To further lighten the mood of the meeting, Takaichi said that he was watching the World Series with excitement.

Japanese great Shohei Ohtani plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are playing in the series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

He also highlighted that Japan is donating 250 cherry trees to Washington DC to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States next year.

The cherry trees will replace trees that needed to be removed to support the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial, including ‘Stumpy’, a beloved half-dead cherry tree that continues to bloom.

Takaichi also noted how Japanese fireworks will be used in next year’s Fourth of July celebrations in the nation’s capital.

The leaders then signed two agreements, one on critical minerals and the other that brought to life a ‘golden age’ in the US-Japan alliance.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae (left) walks alongside President Donald Trump (right) during a welcoming ceremony at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday morning

President Donald Trump (left) attended a meeting at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday morning and spoke for the first time with Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi

President Donald Trump salutes the guard of honor at a welcoming ceremony at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday morning

President Donald Trump (left) attends a signing ceremony with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (right) at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday morning

A photo of ‘Japan is Back’ baseball caps signed by both President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was posted on the White House account.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced Tuesday that Japan will gift 250 cherry trees to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday, which will replace felled trees, including Stumpy (pictured), in a project to support the seawalls of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.

They then met with families whose loved ones had been kidnapped by North Korea.

Trump has kept the door open to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un after meeting him three times in his first term, but there appears to be no progress in scheduling a meeting.

‘We didn’t do anything, we were too busy, we really didn’t. “We’ll discuss it,” Trump told reporters at Akasaka Palace.

Japan was Trump’s second stop in Asia on his three-country tour, which will culminate with a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

Officials from the US and China signaled over the weekend that a possible end to the trade war is near with a potential deal that would prevent dangerous fentanyl supplies from coming to the US

Beijing will also reduce barriers to US access to rare earth minerals, while purchasing ‘significant’ amounts of US soybeans and other agricultural products.

‘We had a very good meeting,’ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said aboard Air Force One.

“But nothing has been agreed upon yet,” Trump warned. ‘But we feel fine.’

The meeting with Xi is expected to take place on Thursday, just before the president returns to the United States.

The president also said they could ‘finalize’ the TikTok deal during his meeting with the Chinese leader. ‘So we got an original confirmation from President Xi. “I’m hoping to get a confirmation, but I’d rather wait a few days to let you know,” he said.

The president kicked off his three-nation Asian tour with Trump-style flair on Sunday morning, performing his trademark fist-pumping dance alongside local dancers when he arrived in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

President Donald Trump touched down in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday evening; this was the second country he visited on his Asian tour this week. While in Tokyo, he will meet the country’s new prime minister

President Donald Trump stepped off Air Force One in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday evening

President Donald Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling between Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Tokyo, Japan.

Traditionally, he performs these moves to the song YMCA by the Village People.

Trump’s allies applauded when a dancing video shot by the president’s longtime aide Margo Martin went viral.

At the ASEAN summit, Trump announced the completion of trade agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia and said progress was being made on completing two more trade agreements with Vietnam and Thailand.

Trump also donned his pacifist hat by attending the signing ceremony of an enhanced ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia following a brief border conflict in July.

On the sidelines of the summit, Trump also met with Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and said that the talks were going well and expressed his confidence that the USA and Brazil could also sign a trade agreement.

The president had threatened to increase tariffs on Brazil over the country’s investigation into former President Jair Bolsonaro, a political ally of Trump who was sentenced to prison for plotting a coup.

On Air Force One en route to Tokyo, Trump said his meeting with Lula had been “very good” but added: “I don’t know if anything will happen, but we’ll see.”

He also wished the Brazilian leader a happy birthday.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) spoke to reporters alongside President Donald Trump (right) during a flight between Malaysia and Japan on Monday and gave updates on the developing China trade deal.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt caught President Donald Trump joking with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Tokyo, Japan, on Monday.

‘I want to wish the president a happy birthday, okay? Today is his birthday. “He’s actually a very energetic guy and he was very impressive, but today is his birthday, happy birthday,” Trump said.

Trump made harsher statements towards Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who will go to South Korea for the APEC conference.

‘I don’t want to meet him, no. “I won’t be meeting with him for a while,” Trump told reporters on his way to Tokyo.

The president was furious about an ad campaign spearheaded by Ontario Premier Doug Ford that quoted the late Republican Ronald Reagan’s warning about taxes.

‘Ronald Reagan loved tariffs. “He used them sparingly, he probably made a mistake in that, and again, I was Ronald Reagan’s biggest fan, but that wasn’t his strong suit on finance and trade,” Trump said. ‘But he liked tariffs and they completely changed it to say he didn’t.’

The president also claimed that ‘Canada has been ripping us off for a long time.’

Trump’s visit to Asia represents his sixth foreign trip since returning to the White House.

In April, he traveled to Rome with First Lady Melania Trump for Pope Francis’ funeral, and a few weeks later visited three countries in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Trump traveled to Canada for the G7 in June and cut short the trip because of the brief war between Israel and Iran.

He and his wife then took part in the historic second royal state visit to the United Kingdom in September and were welcomed by King Charles at historic Windsor Castle.

Earlier this month, he flew to Israel and Egypt to sign a peace agreement to end the war in Gaza.