TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will donate 250 flowering cherry trees and July 4th fireworks to Washington, DC, after she and President Trump tuned into the World Series game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Takaichi, who became Japan’s first female prime minister seven days ago, emphasized the nations’ common love of baseball and her country’s historic gift of cherry trees to DC as the leaders began their official dialogue, which is expected to focus behind closed doors on military and trade policies.
“To the press corps, I’m very sorry that we kept you waiting. As a matter of fact, Mr. President and I just enjoyed watching the Major League Baseball match,” Takaichi opened her official greeting.
“Actually, Dodgers versus Blue Jays, and the Dodgers are now having a one-point lead, and we really enjoyed the match.”
Takaichi, a conservative protégé of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said that the cherry trees would be gifted in recognition of the United States’ 250th anniversary next year and would bolster a new “golden age” of US-Japan relations.
“To have a magnificent celebration, we will extend a gift of 250 cherry trees to Washington, DC. In addition, I understand that fireworks from Japan, from Akita Prefecture, will be shown in Washington, DC, on July 4 next year,” she said.
Japan in 1912 gifted over 3,000 cherry trees during President Howard Taft’s tenure — a fact celebrated every spring at Washington’s heavily attended Cherry Blossom Festival.
Trump is in the midst of a dramatic refresh of the capital city, including the addition of a massive White House ballroom and the planning of a possible 250th anniversary triumphal arch across from the Lincoln Memorial.
“We’ve received your orders for a very large amount of new military equipment. And you know that we make the best military equipment in the world,” said Trump, who will deliver a speech later in the day aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier near the mouth of Tokyo Bay.
“We appreciate that order, and we very much appreciate the trade. We’re going to do tremendous trade together, I think, more than ever before. We’re just signing a new deal, and it’s a very fair deal.”
Trump in July reached a new trade pact with Japan, lowering his threatened 25% “reciprocal” tariff to 15% in exchange for pledges of $550 billion in Japanese investments in the US, in addition to Tokyo reducing barriers to imports of US vehicles and agricultural products.
Japanese cars also face a 15% tariff under that deal, lower than the 25% rate Trump applied to most other countries.
The White House has not teased any looming reforms to the Japan trade deal this week — and the two leaders signed a brief document reaffirming the “GREAT DEAL” reached in July.
Takaichi and Trump also signed a document pledging to cooperate to boost investments and develop policies to secure rare-earth and critical minerals against “non-market policies and unfair trade practices” from China — after Trump recently signed similar documents with Australia, Malaysia and Thailand.
Trump’s three-nation tour of the region is focused heavily on making economic deals.
During his first stop in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, he signed agreements to lower tariffs on certain goods from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in exchange for pledges of billions of dollars in purchases of US airplanes, natural gas and agricultural goods such as soybeans and corn.
Trump will return to the US after visiting South Korea on Wednesday and Thursday, where he hopes to announce a trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping that will address Beijing’s new export restrictions on rare-earth and critical minerals, as well as Chinese fentanyl smuggling and steps to revive soybean purchases.
