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A grumpy Trump welcomes Japan's weakened leader
On Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe will call on President Trump at his Florida resort for two days of
meetings and meals. It may serve as a welcome reprieve for
the duo: Abe and Trump are both weathering scandals at home, with investigators
and journalists poring over evidence of both leaders' alleged cronyism.
Their latest summit at Mar-a-Lago — the pair has already met
twice during Trump's time in office — may offer a brief window to change the
conversation. But it may also crack the lid on a new and turbulent period of
U.S.-Japan relations.
As my colleagues report, the Trump administration
has recently ruffled feathers in Tokyo. First, Abe's government was alarmed by
the White House's decision to embrace talks with North Korea
and kick-start a diplomatic process that could downplay long-standing Japanese
concerns. Then it was stung by Trump's decision not to grant Japan waivers from
new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, making Japan the only major U.S. ally
not to receive such an exemption. (Washington granted Seoul a waiver after revising the
terms of their existing bilateral free-trade deal.)
It was a personal blow to Abe, who — unlike the liberal
president of South Korea — has endeavored to build a chummy relationship with
Trump. “Abe was the first foreign leader to visit Trump after the election, and
the two have met and spoken 20 times — more interactions than Trump has had
with any other world leader. It is Abe’s second visit to Mar-a-Lago, after
meetings and a round of golf last year,” wrote The Post's David Nakamura and Anna Fifield.
During Trump's visit to Japan last year, Abe even fell into a
bunker as the two leaders golfed. This year, he seems to be mired in a much
bigger trap, of his own making. “I think the Japanese thought that Abe kind of
knew how to handle Trump. That was his big mistake,” said Clyde Prestowitz, a
top trade negotiator in the Reagan administration, to the Los Angeles Times.
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