Shadow of Xi summit hangs over Trump's high-stakes talks with Japan's Takaichi

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in New York, but the most significant figure casting a shadow over their summit will actually be absent from the event. Trump will instead be attending a high-stakes state visit from Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, just two days after Takaichi's meeting with the American leader at the United Nations General Assembly. This will mark Xi's first state visit to the United States in more than a decade.

As the U.S. president embarks on a campaign for tangible results before a potentially contentious November midterm election, Japan is making a concerted effort to safeguard its critical interests from being compromised during the Trump-Xi summit. The atmosphere surrounding the talks is further complicated by the strained relations between Tokyo and Beijing.

Last November, Takaichi's assertion that an attack on Taiwan could be deemed a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan sparked outrage in Beijing, leading to months of diplomatic deadlock. While China considers Taiwan an integral part of its territory that can be taken by force if necessary, most nations, including the United States, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state.