The unbalanced chemistry between US and Japan

This first meeting between Japan's new leader and the US president has shocked audiences worldwide. Online, many say Takaichi looks more like Trump's "puppet" than a partner.

In exchange for lower tariffs, Japan has made sweeping promises of investment in the US. Takaichi reportedly told Trump that Toyota would invest $10 billion, and that Japan would buy more US rice and soybeans, while further opening its market to American-made vehicles.

Since the end of World War II, Japan has become a pawn in Washington's power game in Asia. Perhaps this meeting is an uncomfortable reminder that, eight decades after the war, Japan still struggles to find an independent voice.