Bloomberg Surveillance · Thursday, September 24, 2026
Elizabeth Economy notes that Japan has mixed feelings regarding the U.S.-China summit, expressing concern over President Trump's perceived failure to strongly condemn China's economic and military aggression. However, Japan is pleased with the bolstered security relationship with the U.S.
“I think in Japan, there's sort of a mixed sense. On the one hand, I think they've been a little bit concerned about President Trump's failure to speak out loudly and coherently about the challenge that China now presents to Japan, both in terms of the economic squeeze that it's placing on Japan, but also the military. You know, China's been very militarily aggressive toward Japan over the past year or more. And so I think, you know, Japan is one of our strongest allies and they probably expect a little bit more from the president in terms of a of a defense, at least a rhetorical defense of Japan. On the other hand, the Japanese, I think, are quite pleased with the degree to which the security relationship between Japan and the United States has been bolstered over the past few years.”