Japan’s Abe To Propose Win-Win Approach to U.S.-Japanese Relations

PRESS RELEASE

Japan’s Abe To Propose Win-Win Approach to U.S.-Japanese Relations

Feb. 9, 2017 (EIRNS)—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will arrive in Washington with a full plan for improving relations between the United States and Japan when he meets President Donald Trump today. The plan includes a proposal for new cabinet-level U.S.-Japan talks on trade, security, and macroeconomic issues, including currencies.

"In a situation in which security relations in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly severe, it is very important to demonstrate the unshakeable U.S.-Japan alliance at home and abroad,"

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.

"This is the most important theme of the U.S.-Japan leaders’ summit," he said, and saying it was also vital to have constructive discussions on how to create a "win-win" relationship by further strengthening U.S.-Japan economic ties.

Abe, who will be accompanied by Finance Minister Taro Aso and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, will bring a package of steps Tokyo says could create 700,000 U.S. jobs through private-public investment in infrastructure such as high-speed trains, government sources say.

These cabinet-level talks would be headed by Finance Minister Aso, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, and deal with crafting trade policies and measures to bolster U.S. employment, according to a report in the Nikkei business daily.

Abe and Trump will also play a round of golf in Florida this weekend after the meeting at the White House on Feb. 10, and Trump said he will make sure the Japanese leader is his partner in the game, rather than a competitor.