Obama wraps up Japan visit but no trade deal

US President Barack Obama wrapped up a state visit to Japan on Friday during which he assured America’s ally that Washington would come to its defense, but failed to clinch a trade deal key his ‘pivot’ to Asia and to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s reforms. Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Abe had been seeking to display the alliance was strong in the face of a rising China, but their success in putting recent strains behind them was partly marred by a failure to reach a trade deal seen as crucial to a broader regional pact. That failure delayed a joint statement on security and economic ties until shortly before the US leader left Japanese capital Tokyo for South Korean capital Seoul, the next stop on his week-long, four-nation Asian tour. Obama and Abe had ordered their top aides to make a final push to reach a trade agreement after the leaders met on Thursday, but Economu Minister Akira Amari told reporters that gaps remained despite recent progress, according to Reuters.