
WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald Trump said Monday that he could meet with Japanese Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru before he takes office next month.
Asked at a press conference in Florida whether his meeting with Ishiba will take place before the Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump said, “It could.”
“I have great respect for the position,” he said, referring to the Japanese prime minister.
Trump said he has sent Ishiba a book and some other things through Akie Abe, the widow of the late former Japanese Prime Minister ABE Shinzo.
Trump and Akie Abe had dinner at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Sunday. “It was just out of respect to Shinzo,” Trump said.
Referring to George Glass, his nominee for ambassador to Japan, Trump said that he is a “highly respected man.” He added, “We consider Japan very important.”
JIJI Press