Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Trump vows to make Japan ties ‘even closer’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump pledged Friday that his administration remains committed to maintaining the United States’ long-standing security alliance with Japan, aiming to calm jitters in Tokyo over his inflammatory rhetoric on the campaign trail.
In a news conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House, Trump called the alliance the “cornerstone of peace and stability in the Pacific region,” and he vowed to make ties between the two countries “even closer.”
Trump’s remarks on the alliance, which hewed closely to statements of previous U.S. presidents, would not have been remarkable were it not for the sharp criticism he aimed at Japan during the 2016 presidential campaign.
He denounced a sizable U.S. trade deficit to Japan and suggested Japan and South Korea were not paying their share to support American troops based in the region.
But the summit, aggressively pursued by the Japanese, aimed to erase doubts, even as the two sides remain at odds over how to move forward on trade and economic ties.
Trump sought to present the two countries in harmony over shared challenges on North Korea’s nuclear programs and China’s aggression in the South China Sea — “both of which I consider a very, very high priority,” he said.
On several occasions, Trump gave Abe extended handshakes — one in the Oval Office lasted 19 seconds — and patted him on the back, displaying a personal warmth that has begun to develop between the two men since Abe became the first foreign leader to visit Trump after his election victory in November.
“Strong hands,” Trump remarked in the Oval Office, mimicking a golf swing. The two were scheduled to play a round this weekend at Mara-Lago, Trump’s winter retreat in Palm Beach, Fla.
“I grabbed him and hugged him because that’s the way we feel,” Trump said at the news conference, describing his greeting of Abe outside the West Wing. “We have a very, very good bond, very, very good chemistry.”
“I’ll let you know if it changes,” Trump added, drawing laughs in the East Room before adding, “but I don’t think it will.”
Abe, who has made a concerted effort to court Trump since his election, praised the president’s outsider candidacy and “uphill struggle and fight” to win the White House.
The Japanese leader also pledged that his country would play a “greater role” in defense and security operations, although he was vague on what that might entail.
Japan’s Self-Defense Forces are prohibited from combat missions abroad under the constitution imposed on the country by the United States after World War II.
“Of course, there are disagreements,” Abe said, “but we should not close down the ... dialogue just by pointing to the differences and ignoring the common interests and common goals.”
The summit was being watched closely by U.S. allies and partners across the globe for signs of how Trump would deal with a powerful ally after the unpredictable bluster of his campaign and early weeks of his presidency.
Trump has clashed with the leaders of Mexico and Australia, and his move to cancel U.S. participation in a 12-nation Pacific Rim trade pact that includes Japan raised alarms over how he would receive Abe.