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In his first overseas trip since 2019, Florida governor and presumptive Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis met with Japan’s prime minister on Monday and said he hoped the United States would stand by Japan “every step of the way” as it could improve . defense to meet rising challenges from North Korea and China.
“I am a big supporter of the US-Japan alliance,” Mr. DeSantis, standing next to his wife, Casey DeSantis, told reporters in Tokyo briefly after a 30-minute meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. “I think Japan has become an ally for our country, and I think a strong Japan is good for America, and I think a strong America is good for Japan.”
Mr. DeSantis’ comments appear to depart from the stance taken by Donald J. Trump, who is now the Republican presidential candidate. Before becoming president in 2017, Mr. Trump attacked Japan over its trade policy and accused it of exploiting its military alliance with the United States to protect itself at low risk and minimal cost.
Mr. DeSantis has not announced a presidential campaign but is widely expected to do so, although his prospects for winning the primary have looked dim in recent months. Mr. Trump, who once trailed Mr. DeSantis in some polls, has now gone ahead and consolidated an endorsement from Florida’s congressional delegation.
For an American governor to have a meeting with the Japanese prime minister – especially one so close to the Group of 7 summit being held next month in Hiroshima – is considered unusual. Mr. DeSantis’ trip gives him an opportunity to boost his foreign policy credentials, which require positive headlines.
After creating a new foreign policy agenda, Mr. DeSantis faced major criticism from his fellow Republicans, who attacked him for calling Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine a “territorial dispute” that was not in the interest of US national security. (He quickly retreated.)
While Mr. DeSantis has not been fully vocal about his foreign policy philosophy, some of his views have emerged during his time in the House, including his stint on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Former colleagues there described him as sharing such a rigid and narrow view of how the United States should use power abroad that it was difficult to classify him as a hawk or an isolationist.
On Monday, Mr. DeSantis praised Japan’s efforts to double its military spending until it finally approaches 2 percent of the country’s economic output. He pointed to threats in the region that he said included “not only the CCP but also Kim Jong-un,” a reference to the Chinese Communist Party and the North Korean leader.
Mr. DeSantis also called for more military investment by the United States. “If you look at our stockpiles and some of them have happened over the last few years, there is a lot of room for improvement behind us as well,” he said.
From his history, the words of Mr. DeSantis in Tokyo will be explained. In Japan and South Korea, “there is concern about the possible outcome of the US election,” said Bruce Klingner, a senior Northeast Asia researcher at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.
“They are concerned about an isolationist U.S. president who may continue or continue the previous president’s threat to withdraw troops from Japan and South Korea,” he said.
Mr. Klingner added that Japan’s recent move to strengthen its own defenses is “obviously a reaction to the deteriorating security situation in China and North Korea, but also concerns that Japan may be seen as a free-riding ally if it does not improve its security posture.”
On trade, Mr. DeSantis said he wants to create new economic ties between Florida and Japan, the nation’s seventh-largest trading partner. He said he would meet with officials from Japan’s two largest airlines to encourage them to establish direct flights from Tokyo to Florida.
“We have more than 100 Japanese companies” in Florida, Mr. DeSantis told reporters, “but if you look at, like, Atlanta in Georgia, they have 400 or 500 Japanese companies, and I think a big part of the reason they have direct flights to Atlanta .So it would be great, I think, to improve economic relations if we can get direct transportation.
Mr. DeSantis’ trip, which will include stops in Seoul, Israel and London, is being paid for by Enterprise Florida, the state’s public-private economic development agency. Private donations to agencies usually provide funding for travel expenses.
Foreign trade does not appear to be a priority for the governor this year. His legislative agenda focuses on red meat for the conservative base, including further restricting abortion, expanding gun rights and banning diversity and equity programs at state universities. He did not mention foreign trade in his State of the State address last month.
Mr. DeSantis left the country two days after asking the Biden administration to declare a major disaster in Broward County, after catastrophic flooding caused gasoline shortages in South Florida.
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