Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is arranging to meet with Donald Trump days after the president-elect assumes office on Jan. 20, according to Japan's Jiji news service.
Abe would meet Trump around Jan. 27, after already meeting America's next commander in chief last month shortly after the U.S. presidential election to "build a relationship of trust." The Japanese prime minister was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after his election victory. The two huddled for 90-minutes at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
A spokesman for the Japanese prime minister's office said he was not aware of any potential meeting and declined to comment further on the matter, Reuters reported Tuesday. The foreign ministry later issued a statement denying that any such meeting was in the works.
While it is unclear whether the January meeting will occur, which would potentially make Abe the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after his inauguration, the Japanese head of state appears determined to forge a close relationship with his soon-to-be American counterpart.
Both countries have regarded each other as essential strategic partners since the end of World War II. The U.S..-Japan military alliance has been a cornerstone of Tokyo's security and Washington's foreign and defense policy in the Asia-Pacific region for decades, but Trump repeatedly questioned the partnership on the campaign trail. Trump suggested he would not guarantee Japan's security unless Tokyo paid more for its own defense, bringing into doubt U.S. alliance commitments in the region.
"As far as Japan and other countries, we are being ripped off by everybody. We have to renegotiate these agreements, because our country cannot afford to defend Saudi Arabia, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and many other places," Trump said at the final presidential debate in October.
The president-elect has also castigated the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and said he would withdraw from it, which would be a big hit to Japan's economy.
Reports of Abe meeting with Trump come one day after the White House announced Japan's prime minister would be visiting Pearl Harbor at the end of December with President Obama, marking the first time a sitting Japanese leader has visited the sight where Tokyo carried out a surprise attack that brought the United States into World War II.