'US-Japan are allies at strongest level': Trump, Takaichi sign trade and rare earths deals

Japan's new PM Sanae Takaichi and US President Donald Trump signed a deal aimed at securing critical as they heaped praises and vowed of a “golden age” of Japan-US ties. The White House said that the two leaders signed a framework agreement for securing the supply of critical minerals and rare earths through mining and processing.

As part of their deal, the US and Japan plan to cooperate through use of economic policy tools and coordinated investment to accelerate development of diversified, liquid, and fair markets for critical minerals and rare earths, the statement said. They also agreed to streamline and deregulate permitting timelines and processes for critical minerals and rare earths, as well as to address non-market policies and unfair trade practices. Both countries would consider a mutually complementary stockpiling arrangement and would cooperate with other international partners to ensure supply chain security, the White House statement added.

The White House also said that Takaichi, Japan's first woman prime minister, also said that she will nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize. "We are an ally at the strongest level, and 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. "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 replied. She also thanked Trump for his "enduring friendship" with assassinated prime minister Shinzo Abe. Earlier, Trump had said that he heard "phenomenal things" about Takaichi, "a great ally and friend of Shinzo Abe, who was my friend". Earlier on his tour of Asia, Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim signed a trade agreement, boosting US access to critical minerals.