The visit by President Donald Trump to Japan seemed like a shot in the arm for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He will be facing parliamentary elections soon and he feels uneasy about a possible ongoing threat from North Korea. Therefore, he took the opportunity during Trump’s visit to reveal to the world his country’s alliance with America. It was a message he sent across to both domestic and foreign rivals.

Time reports that the gains for the host far outweighed that of the guest. The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe introduced Donald Trump to the new Emperor Naruhito.

Trump and Abe dined and played golf and paid a visit to a Japanese helicopter carrier. This will be undergoing modifications to make it compatible for handling sophisticated fighter aircraft like the F-35B short-takeoff-and-landing jet. In the opinion of an Asia expert at Stanford University -“From Japan’s point-of-view, Abe got everything he wanted out of this visit.”

Trump’s take on North Korea a surprise

Donald Trump’s visit to Japan was a carefully scripted one.

However, the president left his national security adviser and other top officials in the lurch with his statements. One of these was the insistence that the latest missile tests conducted by North Korea did not violate United Nations resolutions. It was a contradiction to the official stand taken by his national security adviser and other top officials.

Time goes on to add that the president has implicit faith in Kim Jong-un.

Trump ignored the fears expressed by Prime Minister Abe. As an observer remarked, “Compared to Trump, Kim is playing a consistent and increasingly influential role.” He feels it could have far-reaching consequences because Kim would be trying to create a “new united front with China and Russia, much to the detriment of U.S. interests in the region.” When the president goes against the stated stand of National Security Adviser and Secretary of State on sensitive issues, there is bound to be confusion among allies and adversaries.

North Korea’s missile tests

According to AP News, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tried to minimize their differences during the four-day state visit to Tokyo.

However, there was a difference of opinion over North Korea. The renewal of the country’s short-range missile tests has rattled Japan but Trump did not assign much importance to it. When asked if those tests had bothered him, he said, “No, I’m not. I am personally not.” Abe, on the other hand, described them as “of great regret.” Incidentally, Trump is hopeful that Kim Jong-un will give up his nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. The two of them had two summits and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula continues to be elusive. Trump calls Kim a “smart man” and says he wants to make his country better. The president ends on a positive note when he says he is in “no rush.”
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