First Meeting of a Foreign Leader with Trump: Japanese Prime Minister 'Gained Assurance'

Shinzo Abe says he has gained 'assurance' regarding the future of relations between the two countries following a meeting with the President-elect of the United States. The meeting between the Japanese Prime Minister and Donald Trump is the first encounter of a foreign leader with the future leader of the U.S. Shinzo Abe, who traveled to New York for the meeting, stated, 'In my opinion, without assurance between the two countries, our alliance will not go anywhere in the future. After today's discussions (Thursday U.S. time), I concluded that Mr. Trump is a leader I can have a lot of confidence in.' The foreign policy proposed by Donald Trump during his election campaign has attracted significant attention worldwide and has raised 'concerns' among some of the United States' traditional allies. Tokyo and Seoul, among the most important economic, military, and political partners of the U.S. in East Asia, are capitals where these concerns have become apparent among their leaders. During the competition with Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate, Mr. Trump proposed ideas such as demanding a greater share of the costs of the U.S. military from allies that the United States defends. He also mentioned that if he wins the election, 'it is possible to consider allowing Japan and South Korea to have their own nuclear weapons for self-defense against China and North Korea instead of being under the U.S. nuclear umbrella.' The Republican candidate also raised the possibility that if the 'weakness' of the current U.S. government on the international stage continues, these two countries might pursue nuclear weapons themselves. A series of these statements reflected Tokyo's concerns, which faces both the increasing trend of North Korea's nuclear and military tests and the rising power of China in the region. Currently, Tokyo pays nearly half of the costs of U.S. forces stationed in Japan, which amounts to about two billion dollars annually. According to a report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service, Seoul also pays nearly 800 million dollars a year, along with about 9.7 billion dollars for relocating U.S. military bases in South Korea. The presence of the U.S. military in East Asia has strategic objectives following the end of World War II and the Korean War. Under Barack Obama's administration, foreign policy focused more on the East Asia region. Alongside these issues, the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement, which is the largest of its kind, is also at stake, with the U.S. and Japan being two important sides of it. Trump has not hidden his opposition to this agreement.