While Biden has repeatedly said the US would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion – although the White House later walked back his comments – Trump has been less clear about his position.
“We don’t want to risk a sea of misunderstanding,” said Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, a Tokyo-based policy research organization. He said he was aware of Japan’s efforts to reach out to Trump.
In the preface to a new edition of his memoir released this week, former US national security adviser John Bolton writes that if Trump is re-elected, he might encourage China to impose a blockade of Taiwan.
A challenge for Japan is to determine who will try to appease Trump if he returns to office.
Officials and analysts say Kishida, whose ratings have fallen due to a series of party scandals, may not be in charge when the November 5 US presidential election is held. The LDP will have to hold a leadership vote by the end of September.
“Clearly Trump is a factor in the LDP’s choice of leader,” Watanabe said, adding that the party would ideally look for a candidate who could speak English, have a rapport with Trump and play golf.
“A good golfer is bad. Just need to be a good enough golfer not to beat Trump,” he said.