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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Japan’s New Leader Faces an Early Test with Trump

Japan’s New Leader Faces an Early Test with Trump

October 27, 2025 at 6:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sanae Takaichi, who last week became the first woman to lead Japan as prime minister, has never met President Trump. She does not play golf, Mr. Trump’s favored sport, nor is she known to share his love of hamburgers,” the New York Times reports.

“But when Ms. Takaichi holds talks with Mr. Trump in Tokyo on Tuesday, she will have another card to play as she tries to win reassurance from him on trade and security. She is expected to emphasize her connection to Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister assassinated in 2022, who was Ms. Takaichi’s political mentor and who forged a closer bond with Mr. Trump than perhaps any other world leader.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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