U.S. President Donald Trump asked Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to avoid further escalation in a dispute with China during a call this week, two Japanese government sources told Reuters. The discussion followed Takaichi’s remarks in parliament earlier this month suggesting that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger Japanese military action, sparking the most serious diplomatic fallout with Beijing in years.
Beijing responded furiously to Takaichi’s comments, demanding a retraction, which the Japanese prime minister has not issued. During the call, Trump reportedly urged Takaichi to avoid further provoking China but did not make any specific demands, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The call came shortly after Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which Xi emphasized that Taiwan’s “return to China” is a core component of Beijing’s vision for the international order, Xinhua news agency reported. Taiwan, which rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, has repeatedly said reunification is not an option for its 23 million people.
China has also called on the United States to rein in Japan to prevent “actions to revive militarism,” according to an editorial published by the ruling Communist Party’s newspaper on Thursday. The article stressed that both China and the U.S. share responsibility to safeguard the post-war international order and to oppose any attempts to revive militarism, citing Japan as a historical adversary during World War Two.
In a statement attributed to Trump, the White House said, “The United States’ relationship with China is very good, and that’s also very good for Japan, who is our dear and close ally.” The Japanese Prime Minister’s Office referred Reuters to its earlier official readout of the call, which noted that U.S.-China relations were discussed but offered no further details.
