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us-japan relations

US ​President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House on February 7, 2025.
Analysis

Enemies to allies: The US and Japan 80 years after Hiroshima

Eighty years ago this week, the US dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 200,000 people, mostly civilians. It was the first and, so far, only use of nuclear weapons in war.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's office in Tokyo on March 30, 2025.
What We're Watching

Japan courts both the US and China on security and trade

In his first trip to Asia this weekend, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called for greater military cooperation between Tokyo and Washington.

A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces US-2 search-and-rescue amphibian plane, manufactured by ShinMaywa Industries Ltd, is seen in this updated handout photo released by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces, and obtained by Reuters on November 4, 2013
What We're Watching

US, Japan boost military ties

The United States and Japan announced Sunday that they will deepen defense cooperation in response to increasing threats from Russia and China.

Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida poses with U.S President Joe Biden as they are on the way to state dinner in Washington DC, U.S, on April 10, 2024.
What We're Watching

Biden and Kishida bromance is meant to make Xi sweat

The White House showered Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida with gifts and honors during his state visit starting Wednesday, but the friendly display is aimed just as much at Beijing as it is Tokyo.

​President Joe Biden Meets With Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC in January 2023.
What We're Watching

US and Japan will upgrade military ties

Thick plates of steel for use in construction and ship building are hot-rolled by machinery at the Nippon Steel Corp. Kimitsu steel mill in Kimitsu, Japan near Tokyo February 6, 2008.
What We're Watching

Biden slams Nippon Steel deal — but Tokyo plays it cool

US President Joe Biden on Thursday came out against Japan’s largest steel producer acquiring Pittsburgh-based US Steel, saying America must “maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steelworkers.”

Would US-Japan ties be hurt by a Trump re-election?
GZERO World Clips

Would US-Japan ties be hurt by a Trump re-election?

Can one of the United States' closest allies count on it when the chips are down? Ian asks Rahm Emanuel, the US Ambassador to Japan, in the latest edition of GZERO World.

The complicated US-Japan relationship
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

The complicated US-Japan relationship

The US-Japan alliance is complex. But among other priorities, to rein in China, both countries need each other, as US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel discussed with Ian Bremmer in a GZERO World interview.

A photograph of the flag of Japan, some branches and the blue sky | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer the podcast
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast

Podcast: Unpacking the complicated US-Japan relationship with Ambassador Rahm Emanuel

Listen: Ian Bremmer is in Tokyo, Japan, to check in on America’s “pivot to Asia.” How’s that going? But if we ever do get there, we will have to take Japan, one of our closest regional allies, along with us. To talk about US-Japan relations, and many sticky policy issues, Ian is joined by US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Asia

Biden brings South Korea and Japan together

On Friday, President Joe Biden will host South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a summit at the famous Camp David. While it might not seem like a big deal for Washington to facilitate a summit with America’s two closest Asian partners, it is monumental that South Korea, in particular, appears ready and willing to enlist in a new US-led trilateral alliance with Japan.