US-Japan Relations: Japanese PM Abe meeting with US President Trump at Mar-a-Lago

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02:51

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula also tops Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's agenda as he is in the US for two days of meetings with Donald Trump. Another topic of their meeting is trade. CGTN's Roee Ruttenberg brings you more from Florida, where the meetings are taking place.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is no stranger to the so-called Winter White House. U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Abe at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida back in February of 2017. And Abe hosted the American leader in Tokyo later that year.

The White House says Trump has met and spoken with Abe more than any other leader. Indeed, they have a lot to discuss.

Both have said the issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK - and its nuclear and missiles program - is a top priority. In fact, the two will spend much of Abe's visit exclusively discussing Pyongyang.

This week's meeting is their first since Trump accepted an invitation by the North's Kim Jong Un to meet, face-to-face. Japan has offered to join that conversation. Analysts say: that's unlikely.

Regionally, Japan has arguably taken the hardest line against the DPRK. The new government in Seoul favors intra-Korean talks, and exchanges. Abe doesn't trust the Kim. His government has repeatedly warned the world to not be fooled by what it's called Pyongyang's charm offensive.

But recent diplomatic overtures - including Kim's visit to Beijing, and his upcoming talks with South Korea's Moon Jae-in - risk leaving Tokyo out of the equation.

Abe is said to worry that Washington will focus its talks with Pyongyang on intercontinental ballistic missiles - that threaten the US. And, will overlook the short- and medium- range arsenal pointed right at Japan.

The other big issue is trade.

Japan is among the few American allies directly impacted by recent U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum but so far not exempt.

Tokyo's economic surplus over Washington may absorb some of that but only for so long.

Trump may use the tariffs as leverage to push Abe into bilateral free trade talks. The Japanese leader favors a multi-national approach. Namely, the TPP, or Trans-Pacific Partnership.

ROEE RUTTENBERG PALM BEACH, FLORIDA "Shinzo Abe was the first foreign leader to visit Trump after he won the election. He's invested a lot into their relationship since. But Abe's support back home is in decline. This may be one of the most important meetings of his tenure, and his chance to show that that investment has paid off. Roee Ruttenberg, CGTN, in West Palm Beach, Florida."