Sanae Takaichi says Japan and US are "allies bound by very strong ties" after Trump-Xi summit

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is reportedly seeking a phone conversation with President Donald Trump after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping repeatedly invoked the World War II partnership between the United States and China against Japan. The remarks came Thursday, when Trump hosted Xi at the White House for Xi's first state visit to Washington in more than a decade, and they prompted unease in Tokyo. On Friday, Takaichi emphasized the strength of the Japanese-American relationship, describing the two countries as closely connected, while declining to discuss the Trump-Xi meeting. Her effort to speak with Trump points to how the summit's historical framing has unsettled a key US ally in Asia.