As Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi got to work on Wednesday, her government began finalizing a purchase package, including U.S. pickups, soybeans and gas, to present to U.S. President Donald Trump in trade and security talks next week, two sources said.
She will not, however, commit to any new defense spending target at the meeting, which comes as Washington presses Japan and other allies to do more, said one of the sources with knowledge of the preparations. The two leaders will sit down in Tokyo early next week during Trump's first visit to Japan since his re-election, following an agreement by her predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, to invest as much as $550 billion in the United States in return for lower auto tariffs.
"The alliance with the United States is the cornerstone of Japan's foreign and security policy," Takaichi said Tuesday at her inaugural news conference as prime minister.
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