US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spent the past weekend at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The two looked to forge a closer bond over a round of golf.
Prime Minister Abe is the first foreign leader to stay at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, and the US hopes to send a signal that it still views Japan as a key ally in Asia.
"I think it's important that Mr. Abe spends some time with President Trump a little bit less formally," said Sheila Smith, Senior Fellow for Japan Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in the US.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump walk to Marine One before departing the White House in Washington DC, on February 10, 2017. /CFP Photo
As Mrs. Trump and Mrs. Abe toured a Japanese garden in the nearby Delray Beach Museum, the US president talked on Twitter to describe the prime minister and his wife as a wonderful couple.
Looking to cement their geopolitical relationship, which has been under stain in recent months, the two leaders spent the day playing golf, while reporters were kept away.
Trump posted a picture of the day on social media, but away from the golf course. The US and Japanese delegations have been using the weekend to take a swing at major economic and security issues.
Japan is deciding whether to press for a bilateral trade agreement with the US, after Trump's decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and wife Akie Abe attend dinner with US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 10, 2017. /CFP Photo
Japan, along with 15 other nations, including China, is engaged in talks on a separate trade deal excluding the US.
"Prime Minister Abe put in a lot of effort in the Trans-Pacific Partnership economic partnership the US and Japan might form," added Smith.
The US is now seeking to reassure Japan that Washington will honor the two countries' mutual defense treaty.
12425km
