Japan Denies Trump Asked PM Not to Provoke Beijing

‘I would like to make it clear that there is no such fact,’ the Japanese government’s top spokesperson said.

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions from reporters about her telephone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Nov. 25, 2025. JIJI Press / AFP via Getty Images

Japan has refuted a report indicating that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi received advice from U.S. President Donald Trump to refrain from provoking the Chinese regime over Taiwan.

Trump and Takaichi spoke by phone on the evening of Nov. 24, their first conversation since China escalated its economic retaliation against Japan to pressure Takaichi to withdraw remarks she made on Nov. 7 concerning Japan’s stance on a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan.