Trump Hosts Tokyo Dinner with Apple Salesforce Anduril Chiefs to Boost Japanese US Investment

President Donald Trump hosted a dinner in Tokyo with prominent business leaders including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani to promote Japanese investment in the United States. The dinner, held at the residence of U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass, also included guests like OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, Toshiba CEO Taro Shimada, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, Honda Motor President Toshihiro Mibe, and Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey. This event coincided with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's announcement of new potential Japanese investments in U.S. projects, linked to a trade framework where Trump lowered and capped tariffs on Japanese goods in exchange for Japan's commitment to fund $550 billion in U.S. ventures. Although many investment plans are preliminary, Lutnick noted the announced deals could total around $490 billion. The investment fund has been interpreted differently by the two countries, with Trump describing it as U.S.-controlled money with most profits returning to the U.S., while Japan views it as a mix of investments, loans, and guarantees backing Japanese companies' American projects. The dinner served as a capstone to Trump's Tokyo visit and reinforced his administration's efforts to strengthen economic ties with Japan.