THE Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will meet US President Donald Trump this week, according to a top government spokesman.
“If circumstances permit, he will visit the United States from Feb 6-8 and hold (his) first face-to-face Japan-US summit meeting with President Trump in Washington DC,” he said.
Nikkei reported that Ishiba wants to discuss increasing imports of US shale gas with Trump, chiming with the president’s pledge to “drill, baby, drill”.
Ishiba is also expected to discuss a bid by Nippon Steel to buy US Steel blocked by previous US president Joe Biden, according to NHK.
Citing national security concerns, Biden blocked Nippon Steel’s US$14.9 billion acquisition of US Steel last month, a move that irked officials in Tokyo.
Ishiba intends to ask Trump to visit Japan at the earliest opportunity, local media reported.
Ishiba held a brief telephone call in November with then-president-elect Trump, and had reportedly unsuccessfully sought to meet with him before his inauguration.
However, Trump in December hosted Akie Abe – the widow of Japan’s assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe – for a private dinner with Melania Trump at their Florida residence.
Last week, Ishiba stressed the importance of close ties with the United States for regional stability.
“As the balance of power in the region undergoes a historic change, we must deepen Japan-US cooperation further, in a concrete manner,” Ishiba told parliament.
His comments underscored jitters over China’s military build-up in the Asia-Pacific and Trump’s “America First” policies, which may include demanding that allies shoulder a larger proportion of defence costs. — AFP
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