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Japan's Abe to be First World Leader to Meet With Trump

by VOA News

   Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will become the first world leader
   to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

   The two plan to talk Thursday in New York with the exact time and place
   still to be announced.

   Abe was among the first world leaders to telephone congratulations to
   Trump after he won last week's presidential election. According to a
   senior Japanese Cabinet official, Abe told Trump "a strong U.S.-Japan
   alliance is an indispensable presence that supports peace and stability
   in the Asia-Pacific region."

   Trump made harsh remarks about Japan and other Asian nations during the
   campaign, demanding they pay a bigger share of the defense bill in the
   Asia-Pacific area, including the cost of maintaining U.S. military
   bases in Japan.

   Trump has also blasted the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement,
   which includes Japan and is backed by the Abe government.

   Abe is in the United States on his way to the Asia-Pacific summit in
   Lima, Peru.