Japan and Korea know how to play the king.
Anything Japan can do, South Korea can do better? A day after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi laid on the flattery during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Tokyo, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung welcomed him by presenting him with a golden crown. The Korean government also awarded Trump the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, the country’s highest decoration, in recognition of his peacemaking efforts.
The tributes seemed to work. In a speech to corporate leaders at the APEC summit in Gyeongju, Trump said the US is “wedded” to South Korea via a “special bond”. Seoul is seeking to win the US president’s favor as the two sides work through significant sticking points in a sweeping trade deal after months of negotiations.
Now, I’m not going say that taking Trump at his word is a good idea. But,equally, treating him like royalty obviously pays dividends. He’s as bent as a dog’s hind leg.
Shinzo Abe enjoyed a combined six years in office before he had to deal with a visit by President Donald Trump to Tokyo. Newly installed prime minister Sanae Takaichi had just over six days.
That’s one reason why Takaichi reached for her mentor’s playbook for dealing with the US president — one that calls for flattery, deference and gold-plated gifts. And it seems to have worked.
Whereas Takaichi’s predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, played for a draw at his White House meeting in February, this encounter was redolent of Abe’s best moments. The late leader, assassinated in 2022, crafted a method of dealing with Trump in his first term that many executives and world leaders have adopted on his return to office
…Some might find this deference cringe-worthy. But as a resource-poor nation still dependent on US security, Japan leans more than most on diplomacy. And it works: It’s clear that the president values personal relationships above traditional norms, and the trappings of power above all.
Both Korea and Japan are deep in negotiations over trade deals, which will likely be so thin as to be meaningless, and they can go back to business as usual. Their alliances with the US military are back on an even keel.
Meanwhile, we stick the obnoxious Kevin Rudd in Trump’s face and get frozen out for a year, only getting lucky on the timing of China’s critical minerals ban.
That Albo sat next to Trump at APEC is only a reflection of the criticality of critical minerals, which Trump is shoving into Xi’s face before today’s meeting.
Australia’s luck may be holding, but that is no excuse for being stupid with bipartisan support.
Imagine the deal we could do if Rudd were not in the way!
