Japan’s Prime Minister to look for ‘personal relationship’ with Trump

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will meet with Donald Trump in the White House on Friday, since the Japanese leader hopes to consolidate ties with the main foreign partner of the country.

Officials from the United States and Japanese said that economic and security concerns, particularly North Korea, will be on the agenda, together with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence.

ISHIBA and Japanese officials Said that the main objective of the visit, however, is to forge personal ties with Trump, which had a warm relationship with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his first mandate.

The visit marks the first one for an Asian White House leader since the second Trump administration began in January.

The visit of the White House is the second of a foreign leader during the new administration, after the whirlwind of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week.

“It will be our first face to face conversations,” Ishiba told reporters before going to Washington. “I would like to focus on building a personal trust relationship between the two.”

During Trump’s first mandate from 2017 to 2021, he grew near the then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, joining golf. Abe resigned in 2020 and He was killed two years later.

Japanese officials said that ishiba made “all possible preparations” for its meeting with Trump, including the advice of the Widow of Abe, who attended the inauguration as guest of Melania Trump, and her predecessor, Fumio Kishida.

The senior administration of the Trump administration described the visit as mainly focused on “peace and prosperity” in the Pacific. Trump is likely to bring realistic training exercises between the US army and Japan’s self -defense forces, as well as cooperation in defense investment.

The White House said that semiconductors and artificial intelligence would also be on the agenda.

From the Japanese perspective, Istiba is expected to underline Japan’s role as an important economic socio for the United States, and highlights that Japan has been the main foreign investor in the United States for five consecutive years.

Among multinational companies, Japanese companies are the largest employment creators in 10 states and the second largest in six.

In Kentucky alone, Japanese companies employ more than 45,000 people, mainly in the manufacture of car equipment.

It is also likely that defense and security discussions are also Japan’s recent commitment to increase 2% defense spending, well below the 5% that Trump has requested among NATO allies, as well as the commitment of the United States with the defense of Taiwan and mutual concerns about North Korea.

Japanese officials consider the growing military ties of North Korea with worrying Russia, particularly the possibility that Russian missile technology is transferred to their ally.

The Trump administration officials said he shares Japan’s “commitment” with a disinchrated North Korea.