PM Sanae Takaichi is set to meet with President Donald Trump on March 19
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/prime-Minister-Sanae-Takaichi-031326-fbe103df0d17473dafd802e41aac96af.jpg "Prime Minister Takaichi cancels diplomatic schedule due to suspected cold")
NEED TO KNOW
- A video of Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi looking exhausted and struggling to stand during a committee budget meeting is circulating the internet
- Takaichi's office told CNN she was under the weather with a cold
- Viewers are expressing concerns over her health ahead of her scheduled March 19 meeting with President Donald Trump
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi looked exhausted and was physically unable to stand up in a video that's circulating the internet, sparking concerns about her health ahead of her planned trip to the United States to meet with President Donald Trump.
The video taken on Thursday, March 12, shows Takaichi in a budget committee meeting looking unwell before she struggles to stand, resulting in her aides rushing to help.
Her team confirmed to CNN that she is under the weather with a cold and recently had to cancel meetings with Middle Eastern ambassadors, the outlet reported.
This now viral moment has added to the growing concerns from Japanese citizens surrounding her health, as she’s previously shared she only sleeps between two and four hours a night, per The Japan Times — something her fellow legislators have objected to.
The video also comes six days before Takaichi is set to meet with Trump on March 19 in Washington D.C. at a leaders' summit to discuss Japan's $550 billion investment in the United States, based on last year’s bilateral agreement, per The Japan News.
They are also reportedly set to discuss Japan’s significant defense spending following the Trump administration’s ask of allies to increase their spending.
Credit: STR/JAPAN POOL / JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty
This meeting marks the first time Takaichi has visited the United States since she took office, as well as her and Trump’s first in-person meeting since he visited Japan in October last year.
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The prime minister is expected to announce Tokyo’s participation in the “Golden Dome,” the United States' proposed missile defense system, when she meets Trump, per the South China Morning Post.
The “Golden Dome” "will progressively protect our nation from aerial attacks from any foe,” including through space-based interceptors, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said last year, per the outlet.
The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran have impacted Japan as the country receives 60% of their oil from the Middle East, with the risks to global energy supply chains rising significantly as the war escalates and expands, per the Middle East Council of Global Affairs.
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