TOKYO: Japan’s new premier Sanae Takaichi lavished US leader Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo on Tuesday, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals.

Takaichi, Japan’s first woman prime minister, pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage, and even announced she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January, and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world, a role that experts, however, downplay.

In return for Takaichi’s plaudits, Trump, who was meeting the conservative premier for the first time on an Asia tour that aims for a deal with China, said Washington was an ally of the “strongest level”.

“It’s a great honour to be with you, especially so early in what will be, I think, one of the greatest prime ministers,” Trump told Takaichi at the Akasaka Palace state guest house. Takaichi praised Trump’s efforts towards a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia and his “unprecedented historic achievement” of the Gaza truce deal.

She also gifted him a golf bag signed by star player Hideki Matsuyama and a putter belonging to assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who had a close personal relationship with Trump, the White House said.

“I would like to realise a new golden age of the Japan-US Alliance, where both Japan and the United States will become stronger and also more prosperous,” Takaichi said.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2025