Shigeru Ishiba TOKYO, Nov 07 (Reuters): Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hopes to meet US President-elect Donald Trump in the United States this month, four sources said, in an attempt to emulate then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's close ties during Trump's first term.
The US is Japan's most important economic and security partner, while Tokyo is a key Washington ally in Asia, providing bases that allow it to keep a large military presence on China's doorstep.
Ishiba told reporters he had held a five-minute phone call with Trump on Thursday morning Japan time and that they agreed to meet as soon as possible.
"I felt that he was very friendly. So from now on, I have the impression that we can talk frankly," he said.
Three of the people familiar with the planning, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Japan was aiming to arrange a meeting between Ishiba and Trump just after a Nov 18-19 summit of the Group of 20 large economies in Brazil. The fourth source said Japan was aiming to arrange the stopover "around" the G20 meeting.
Trump's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ishiba wants to follow the example of Abe, the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after his 2016 election. Abe, who was assassinated in 2022, held the hastily arranged meeting at Trump Tower in New York during a stopover just over a week after that election.
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