He praised Takaichi's plans to boost defense spending to 2% of GDP and pledged unwavering U.S. support, calling the partnership "an ally at the strongest level."

"I want to just let you know anytime you have any question, any doubt, anything you want, any favors you need, anything I can do to help Japan, we will be there," Trump said. "We are an ally at the strongest level."

"We're going to do tremendous trade together, I think, more than ever before," Trump said, adding that he expected the U.S.-Japan relationship would be "stronger than ever before."

Trump and Takaichi signed deals on trade and critical minerals, largely formalizing and extending prior agreements. At the center of the deals was a $550 billion Japanese investment pledge for U.S. projects. 

The first agreement, which was very brief, called for a "new golden age" in the U.S.-Japan alliance and referred to the "GREAT DEAL" on trade that Trump announced in July, which imposes a 15% tariff on Japanese goods in exchange for $550 billion in Japanese investment in the United States.-NBC

Trump framed the fund as one the U.S. could "invest as we like," while Japan described it as loans and guarantees backing Japanese firms' U.S. operations. Both sides emphasized coordination on permitting, financing, and resource mapping, but the White House acknowledged that the agreements remain ill-defined.

Additional headlines from earlier: 

Trump thanked Japan for its massive investment commitments and highlighted Toyota's ongoing expansion in the U.S., noting the automaker is "putting auto plants all over the United States to the tune of over $10 billion."

The U.S. president also highlighted America's renewed push to rebuild its shipbuilding industry, remarking, "We used to be No. 1 at making ships, and then we lost our way. But now we're starting to make ships again, and we'll do it very soon." Trump cited last year's $100 million acquisition of the Philly Shipyard by South Korea's Hanwha Group as a key step toward modernizing U.S. shipbuilding capacity.