U.S. President Donald Trump has congratulated Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takachi on her ruling Liberal Democratic Party's victory in the recent Lower House election, voicing his "full support" for her administration. However, behind the scenes, Trump is said to be deeply frustrated over Tokyo's failure to deliver on a major economic commitment to Washington, according to a Wednesday report by the Nikkei.
The report reveals that Trump erupted in anger during a critical moment in the vote count, as Japan lagged in fulfilling its end of a sweeping U.S.-Japan investment and loan agreement. Signed in July last year, the deal commits Japan to a massive US$550 billion (approx. HK$4.3 trillion) in U.S.-bound investments and loans—a key concession made in exchange for U.S. tariff reductions on Japanese exports. It was hailed as a landmark achievement in bilateral trade talks.
According to the report, Tokyo and Washington had initially identified three energy projects, including a natural gas power generation initiative, as the first-phase focus of Japanese investment. The total investment was expected to exceed 6 trillion yen (approx. HK$305.5 billion), marking the largest-ever overseas investment program by Japan. Yet progress on these projects has fallen short of expectations, infuriating the White House.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly briefed Trump that the first Japanese investment deal was originally set to be finalized by the end of last year. The deadline was later pushed to the end of January, but negotiations remain deadlocked. The latest timeline has now slipped to the end of this month. The repeated delays have led Trump to question Japan's sincerity, with sources saying he increasingly views Tokyo as unreliable. Some within the Trump administration also suspect that Japan may be deliberately stalling—waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the global reciprocal tariffs case before committing to major investments.
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