Japan's Abe says after meeting with Trump that he is confident of building trust
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Donald Trump on Thursday seeking clarity on campaign statements by the president-elect that rattled the Tokyo government, later telling reporters he was confident Trump was a "trustworthy leader."
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| Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 17, 2016. (Photo: Reuters) |
After the hastily arranged 90-minute meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan, Abe told reporters: "The talks made me feel sure that we can build a relationship of trust." But he would not disclose specifics of the conversation because the talks were unofficial.
The conversation came as Japan's leadership was nervous about the future strength of an alliance that is core to Tokyo's diplomacy and security.
Abe and other Asian leaders were alarmed at Trump's pledge during his campaign to make allies pay more for help from U.S. forces, his suggestion that Japan should acquire its own nuclear weapons and his staunch opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
The Republican president-elect will succeed Democratic President Barack Obama on Jan. 20.
Describing his conversation as "candid" and held in a "warm atmosphere," Abe said: "Alliances cannot function without trust. I am now confident that President-elect Trump is a trustworthy leader."
He said he had agreed to meet again with Trump "at a convenient time to cover a wider area in greater depth." It was not clear if such a meeting would occur before Trump's inauguration.
Trump official Kellyanne Conway said earlier on Thursday in an interview with CBS that "any deeper conversations about policy and the relationship between Japan and the United States will have to wait until after the inauguration."
Trump officials did not immediately comment following the meeting with Abe.
