Think ‘Japan First’ and don’t kowtow, ex-Trump aide urges Tokyo

A Japanese American who served in the first Trump transition team says Japan’s PM should be ‘strong’ in his dealings with the US president

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Japanese and US flags are seen in front of a monitor showing US President Donald Trump delivering a speech at his inauguration ceremony on Monday. Photo: AP

Published: 11:04am, 21 Jan 2025Updated: 12:53pm, 21 Jan 2025

Taking a “Japan First” mindset is vital for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to build meaningful ties with Donald Trump, according to a former policy adviser to the US president.

“It doesn’t help to have a Japanese prime minister who is going to kowtow to the president,” said Ado Machida, who was involved in the first Trump presidential transition and is now based in Tokyo, in a recent interview. He advised the Japanese government not to rush to arrange a summit with Trump.

Trump, who was inaugurated on Monday, expects the prime minister to be “Japan First”, just like how his American counterpart pursues an “America First” agenda, Machida said. “And that’s how you have a meeting of minds.”

“You want someone who’s going to be strong and who’s going to tell him the truth and who’s going to give him objective truths,” he said.

The Japanese American served as director of policy implementation in the first Trump transition team for about eight months through February 2017.

Japan’s then-prime minister, Shinzo Abe, rushed to Trump Tower to meet Donald Trump in 2016 before his first term as US president. Photo: Japan’s Cabinet Public Relations Office/Reuters

Machida views Ishiba as in a totally different situation compared with 2016 when Trump, then a real estate mogul with no experience of public office, was unexpectedly elected US president.