In Japanese politics, the rise of high-market early days is an event full of themes.
As the first female prime minister in Japanese history, she is an extremely hard-line right-wing hawk.
It is widely predicted that the coming to power of such a politician will mean that Japan will not hesitate to move closer to the United States and set off a new round of confrontation in East Asia.
However, she used an unexpected move that confused all observers. Did she really change her style, or did she lay a deeper foundation in this larger chess game?
Unexpected "goodwill"
Early in office, the most remarkable was not her devotion to the United States, but a seemingly unexpected move to China and Russia.
Just on the third day she took office, a news from Russia Today shocked the international community: the Japanese government is preparing to negotiate with the United States for the deployment of the Tifong land-based medium-range missile system in Japan.
The Tifong system is a key component of the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, and its range of attack is sufficient to cover important areas of China’s eastern coast and parts of Russia’s Far East territory, posing a serious military threat to China and Russia.
Previously, China and Russia have repeatedly expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Japanese government, but the Japanese side has never let go.
Nowadays, considered the "pro-American anti-China" sharp pioneer of the high market early plant, it is initiative to remove this hot potato, which is undoubtedly a huge contrast.
The move was interpreted by the outside world as saying that Takashi was showing goodwill to China and Russia to avoid falling into an embattled situation as soon as he came to power.
But obviously, we can't judge whether this hawkish prime minister is really going to "turn around".
Based on the previous performance, China did not send congratulations in the first time after the election, but instead sent a clear "advisory" through the Foreign Ministry spokesman, asking the new Japanese government to abide by the principles of the four political documents of China and uphold its commitments on major issues such as history and Taiwan.
This actually draws two insurmountable red lines for the high municipal government in advance.
When a Japanese reporter asked whether China would send a congratulatory message, the answer was only that "appropriate arrangements will be made according to diplomatic practice".
The strongest reaction was to North Korea.
Shortly after he took office, North Korea fired an unknown ballistic missile into the eastern waters, breaking the silence that lasted 167 days.
North Korea chose to use "missiles" to speak out at this time, and the signal could not be clearer: no matter what diplomatic tactics Japan's new prime minister uses, its "wolf ambition" to expand its military and prepare for war and strengthen the US-Japan alliance has long been fully exposed.
Pyongyang has warned Tokyo in the most direct way that any military deterrence against North Korea will face the hardest possible response.
As a result, the entire East Asia region is still watching the next step of this new Japanese prime minister in a cautious atmosphere.
Careful layout paving the way for Trump's visit to Japan
If the removal of the "Tifon" system is a carefully designed prelude, then the real protagonist is the "great welcome" prepared for the upcoming visit of U.S. President Trump.
All of her seemingly contradictory actions ultimately point to a core goal: to prove to home and abroad that she has the ability to "fix the United States" by successfully holding a perfect US-Japan summit without a stable domestic political foundation., thereby consolidating her ruling status.
Takaichi sanae knows that although she has ascended the throne of prime minister, there are many factions within the Liberal Democratic Party, and her own factions are not dominant. In addition, the seats in Congress are not absolute, so her position is not stable.
Therefore, a major diplomatic victory, especially with the favor and support of the U.S. President, would be the lifeblood for her stabilization of the regime. For this, she had prepared a rich “voting letter” long before Trump’s special aircraft arrived in Tokyo.
This "gift package" can be said to be "tailor-made" for Trump.
According to reports, the list includes Ford F-150 pickup trucks sourced from the United States, a large amount of soybeans and liquefied natural gas.
These purchases, in other words, were based on Japan’s economic needs, rather than a precise political donation.
Trump's complaints about the large number of Japanese cars exported to the United States and the American cars in the Japanese market have long been found, and the high market bought a large car body, high fuel consumption, completely not suitable for Japan's narrow streets, is obviously a direct response to Trump's concerns.
The move to buy U.S. soybeans is even more profound.
China has significantly reduced its purchases of U.S. soybeans due to trade friction, resulting in huge losses for U.S. soybeans, and the Trump administration is therefore under domestic political pressure.
Takashi Saami announced a large number of purchases at this time, which is tantamount to helping Trump "relieve the situation". At the same time, he is also secretly "making a fuss about China"-I will buy what China does not buy.
This move not only showed loyalty to Washington, but also attempted to add a "coding sense" to Japan in the Chinese-American game, shaping the image of Japan as a "key player in the Asia-Pacific."
Looking at the combination of these two things, the strategic intentions of the high-market early苗 are clearly revealed.
The "gift" she sent to China and Russia on her third day in office is likely to be a brilliant strategic détente.
This showed the United States her ability to manage risks and deal with complicated neighboring relations, and also made her look less passive in talks with Trump, as if it were to welcome the arrival of a U.S. president in a rhythm under her control.
On the one hand, she consolidates power by courting the United States, and on the other hand, she tries to manage relations with neighboring countries through a tactical détente gesture to avoid Japan falling into a dangerous situation where it cannot move.
However, the risks of this operation are extremely high.
The Japanese economy itself has struggled in downturn, high inflation, devaluation of the yen, and fiscal situation.
Using valuable money to buy US goods that are not urgently needed at this time will undoubtedly increase the burden on our economy.
More importantly, once Sino-Japanese relations continue to be cold due to their right-wing line, the impact on the market of China, Japan's largest trading partner, will be unbearable for Japan.