On the afternoon of November 27th, in a press conference, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Toshimitsu Motegi denied a report by the Wall Street Journal claiming that US President Trump, during a call with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takamichi on the 25th, advised her to avoid provoking Beijing on Taiwan issues. He stated that the Japanese government has requested the media to retract the report.
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal published an exclusive report stating that according to Japanese officials and a US source familiar with the call, after Trump’s conversation with Xi Jinping, a call was arranged with Sanae Takamichi on the evening of November 25th, advising her to avoid provoking Beijing on the issue of Taiwan sovereignty. This may reflect his willingness to restrain an ally from taking a controversial stance on core geopolitical issues for the sake of US-China trade relations. Trump’s advice was nuanced, as he did not pressure Takamichi to retract her statements.
The report mentioned that Japanese officials expressed concern over the information conveyed by Trump, as he did not want friction over the Taiwan issue to jeopardize the recent easing of tensions reached with Xi Jinping last month, including China’s commitment to purchase more agricultural products from US farmers suffering from the trade war.
On the morning of the 27th, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Toshimitsu Motegi stated, “President Trump previously explained the recent state of US-China relations, including the earlier US-China leaders’ (phone) meeting, to the Prime Minister.” He further mentioned, “The detailed content of the meeting involves diplomatic exchanges, therefore I cannot comment on it.”
In the afternoon, Motegi directly denied the content of the Wall Street Journal report, stating, “The report mentioned that Trump advised the Prime Minister not to provoke the Chinese government on Taiwan sovereignty-related issues, which is not true.” The Japanese government has requested the Wall Street Journal to retract the report.
Motegi explained, “The government received numerous inquiries and deemed it necessary to clarify.”
Currently, the Wall Street Journal has made an “update” on social platform X, stating, “A spokesperson for the Japanese Prime Minister stated that the claim regarding Trump advising Sanae Takamichi not to provoke the Chinese government on Taiwan sovereignty issues is inaccurate. He (should be ‘she’) said Trump did not make such comments.”
The report and update by the Wall Street Journal have sparked controversy, with Chinese influencer “Tombstone Technology” posting Motegi’s video on social platform X and making relevant comments.