Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, is finalising a wide-ranging purchase package that includes U.S. pickups, soybeans, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as she prepares for high-level trade and security talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Tokyo next week, government sources said on Wednesday.
The proposed package, aimed at strengthening economic and diplomatic ties with Washington, will serve as a goodwill gesture ahead of Trump’s first visit to Japan since his re-election. However, Takaichi will not commit to a new defence spending target despite mounting U.S. pressure on allies to boost their military budgets, one source familiar with the plan confirmed.
The talks, set for early next week, follow an agreement reached by former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to invest up to $550 billion in the United States in exchange for lower auto tariffs. “The alliance with the United States is the cornerstone of Japan’s foreign and security policy,” Takaichi said on Tuesday during her inaugural press conference, highlighting her intent to reinforce bilateral ties.
Officials familiar with the preparations said the purchase plan includes buying Ford F-150 pickup trucks, an idea reportedly encouraged by Trump and expanding imports of U.S. soybeans, a move expected to ease the impact of Beijing’s curbs on American agricultural exports. Tokyo may reduce its imports from Brazil to accommodate the U.S. shipments, which already make up about 70 percent of Japan’s soybean consumption. The F-150 trucks, too large for typical Japanese roads, may be repurposed for industrial uses such as snow ploughing.
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Japan will also increase purchases of U.S. LNG, though not from the Alaskan pipeline project backed by Trump. Additionally, officials are preparing a list of candidate projects under the $550 billion investment framework agreed last year, which both sides will review before final decisions are made.
While Takaichi previously criticised the deal as disproportionately favouring U.S. returns, she has pledged to honour it, describing it as a “low-risk but potentially beneficial” arrangement.
On defence, Takaichi is expected to reassure Trump of Japan’s commitment to strengthening security cooperation, while stopping short of announcing a specific increase in spending beyond the current target of 2% of GDP by 2027. She has, however, ordered a review of Japan’s 2022 defence strategy documents, signalling intent to accelerate the country’s largest military expansion since World War II.
Trump is scheduled to arrive in Tokyo on Monday for a two-day visit, during which he will also meet Emperor Naruhito. Both leaders will later attend regional summits in Malaysia and South Korea as part of a broader diplomatic tour of Asia.
