Shinzo Abe Has Great Confidence in Donald Trump

The Japanese prime minister has said he has “great confidence” in President-elect Donald Trump and he believes they can build a relationship of trust.

Shinzo Abe described the 90-minute meeting in Trump Tower, New York, as “candid”, with a “warm atmosphere”.

Some of Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric cast doubt over long-standing US alliances, including with Japan.

The meeting was Donald Trump’s first face-to-face with a world leader since winning the presidential election.

The United States and Japan have been key allies since the end of World War Two, when the US helped Japan rebuild its economy.

Donald Trump has vowed to scrap the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which PM Shinzo Abe strenuously supports as a means of countering China’s growing economic strength.

The deal was approved by the Japanese parliament, despite the likelihood that it would be cancelled when Donald Trump takes office.

The president-elect has also said Japan needs to pay more to maintain US troops on its soil, and has floated the idea that Japan and South Korea should develop their own nuclear weapons to counter the threat from North Korean missiles.

The meeting was reportedly arranged when Shinzo Abe rang Donald Trump to congratulate him, mentioning that he would be passing through New York on the way to an Asia-Pacific trade summit in Peru.

Speaking after the meeting, Shinzo Abe said: “We were able to have a very candid talk over a substantial amount of time. We held it in a very warm atmosphere.

“I do believe that without confidence between the two nations the alliance would never function in the future and as the outcome of today’s discussion I am convinced Mr. Trump is a leader in whom I can have great confidence.”