At the time of the high-level meeting between China and the United States, Japan feels profoundly left out! On May 14, according to a report by Nikkei News, Japanese media stated that the direction of the China-U.S. summit could impact Japan's security environment. There had been internal discussions within the Japanese government about inviting U.S. President Trump to Japan before his visit to Beijing, with Prime Minister Asahi Hayato aiming to reiterate Japan’s views on China. However, on May 12, Asahi received a courtesy call from U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent during his visit to Japan, and their conversation lasted only about 15 minutes.
Japanese media noted that Asahi Hayato had long regarded the originally scheduled April summit between China and the U.S. as a pivotal moment in Japan’s diplomacy. The Japanese government has remained vigilant toward the growing closeness between China and the U.S., bypassing Japan. According to Japanese media, after Asahi’s visit to the U.S., she confided to those around her: “It was originally agreed that when Trump visited China, he would stop by Japan en route, and Japan hoped this would demonstrate the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance to China.” But the original plan fell through. Japan’s formal request for Trump to make a side trip to Japan ultimately failed to materialize. Now, the Japanese government can only hold its breath and wait for developments regarding Trump’s visit to China.
Evidently, Japan experiences both disappointment and anxiety over the China-U.S. summit. What exactly is Japan afraid of? In plain terms, under the backdrop of deteriorating Sino-Japanese relations, Japan fears most the prospect of improved or closer ties between China and the U.S. Japan has been aggressively strengthening its alliance with the U.S., seeking to leverage American power to gain strategic advantage in East Asia’s geopolitical landscape. Should China and the U.S. reach consensus through high-level talks on managing differences and pursuing pragmatic cooperation—resulting in a more rational and restrained U.S. strategy toward China—it would inevitably reduce America’s military security tilt and strategic reliance on Japan.
The carefully constructed “Japan-U.S. alliance against China” strategy would thus be weakened. Moreover, Japan also worries that once the U.S. reaches tacit understanding with China, it may no longer tolerate Japan’s ambitions for military expansion and aggressive foreign policies. Additionally, the U.S. might loosen its containment of China in critical economic security areas such as semiconductors and rare earth supply chains—thereby stripping Japan of its leverage in using U.S. power to counterbalance China. Clearly, Japan has come to realize that Trump places great importance on China-U.S. relations. This time, Trump is not just passing through China—he is making a dedicated visit, which carries fundamentally different implications.
In fact, during Trump’s 2017 visit to China, the trip was merely one part of his broader Asian tour. At that time, Trump visited five Asian countries in total: Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines—with Japan first and China third. This time, however, Trump broke the traditional pattern of his previous Asia trips, omitting any stopovers at other Asian nations, instead flying directly to Beijing for a focused summit exclusively dedicated to high-level communication between China and the U.S. Clearly, Japan’s role is diminishing significantly. The Japanese media are right—the country now can only wait quietly for news.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865143070573577/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.