Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters after a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Jan. 2. (Jin Nishioka)

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi opened the new year by reaffirming the close coordination of the Japan-U.S. alliance during a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on the evening of Jan. 2.

“With the aim of making this year one that opens a new chapter in the history of the Japan-U.S. alliance, we agreed to further deepen the friendship between our two countries and broad-ranging Japan-U.S. cooperation encompassing the economy and security,” Takaichi told reporters at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence.

She said it was “highly significant” to confirm the robust partnership of the bilateral alliance at the start of the new year.

According to the Japanese government, while arrangements were being made for a New Year’s phone call between the two leaders, the U.S. side requested that it be held on Jan. 2.

Takaichi is considering visiting the United States as early as March for the first time since taking office in October for a meeting with Trump.

During the approximately 20-minute call, the two leaders agreed to work out specific arrangements for the prime minister’s trip to the United States.

The Japan-U.S. summit is aimed at reaffirming solidarity between the two countries ahead of Trump’s scheduled visit to China in April for talks with President Xi Jinping.

“Trump extended a renewed invitation for me to visit the United States,” Takaichi told reporters. “We agreed to make concrete arrangements toward a spring visit.”

Japan-China relations remain chilled as Beijing has stepped up pressure on Tokyo in protest to Takaichi’s remarks that a Taiwan contingency could warrant a Japanese military response.

When he last talked with Takaichi by phone on Nov. 25, Trump expressed the view that it was necessary to calm the situation.

In late December, China conducted military exercises around Taiwan. Japan’s Foreign Ministry conveyed its concerns to China, saying such actions heighten tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

After the Jan. 2 phone call, Takaichi said the two leaders confirmed the close Japan-U.S. partnership amid the current international situation, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region. But she did not disclose specific details of the conversation.

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