Japan waited nervously for a phone call about what Trump and Xi discussed.
That tells you everything.
While Beijing and Washington were talking directly, Tokyo was outside the room waiting to be briefed like a nervous client state.
China was in the meeting.
America was in the meeting.
Japan was the afterthought.
Sanae Takaichi can flatter, fawn, bow, and pretend Japan is shaping Asia’s future.
But the hierarchy was settled long before the phone call.
Japan is not at the top of the food chain.
It is waiting for leftovers from the table.