Japan has to manage their comprehensive relations with US and China to keep sufficient friction between Washington and Beijing, but not so much where it becomes overheated and leads to escalating tensions.
Events in the DPRK have driven Washington and Beijing closer together, and personal relations between Trump and Xi are framed by Trump as very good. Given that, I thought Tokyo would at least pay lip service to reducing trade surplus with the US. I was wrong; the Abe administration seems to prefer playing hardball on trade. Interesting development.