Clues on how to deal with Trump may emerge as Japanese PM becomes first leader to have face-to-face meeting with US president-elect
World leaders will closely watch Shinzo Abes meeting with Donald Trump in New York on Thursday for tips on how to handle the unpredictable US president-elect.
How Trump responds to Abe the first head of government to gain an audience with him will be of equal interest, given the significance Japan attaches to respectful behaviour and correct protocol.
Japans prime minister pulled off this takeover when he echo up to congratulate Trump after last weeks election, suggesting he drop by on his way to a regional summit in Peru.
By get in first, Abe has trumped other traditional allies, such as Britains Theresa May. Already stereotyped as a second Margaret Thatcher to Trumps Ronald Reagan, May is still waiting for a chance to meet the president-elect.
Manliness matters a lot, apparently, to a legislator often labelled a misogynist. So Abes hard-headed, conservative style may appeal to Trump. The Japanese PM has a record of hitting it off with strongman leaders of the different types Trump seems to admire. To the annoyance of the Obama administration, he has pursued closer ties with Vladimir Putin, increasing Japanese be invested in Russian energy projects while pushing to resolve old territory conflicts.
Abe also reportedly get on well with Recep Tayyip Erdoan, Turkeys authoritarian chairperson, and Irans leaders. He recently told the vociferously anti-American Philippines leader, Rodrigo Duterte, that he was a famous figure.
Abe has the mysterious ability of get together with people, Makoto Iokibe, the former president of the National Defense Academy of Japan, told Mainichi Shimbun newspaper . If Abe can get along with Putin, perhaps he wont find it difficult to strike up a cordial relationship with Trump.
Outright flattery is a tactic likely to work with Trump who, despite his bluster, has zero experience at this elevated level and is likely to be feeling his way. If the two men get on well, Abe may draw on his superior knowledge to shape or temper Trumps views, for example on future copes with China, Tokyos more powerful regional rival.
Abe is likely to appeal immediately to common interests as a way of defusing or circumventing Trumps more alarming statements. During the campaign he demanded Japan pay more for the upkeep of US basis. Trump also indicated, although this is now disputed, that Japan and South Korea consider acquiring nuclear weapons to deter Kim Jong-un, North Koreas dictator, whom he termed a madman.
Japanese analysts calculate Tokyo is already paying up to 75% of the overall cost of American military deployments in Japan, which include 50,000 troops and the US Seventh Fleet, and that these commitments upheld a shared interest in maintaining security across the east- and south-east Asian regions.
Likewise, Abe may argue, North Koreas rogue nuclear weapons programme represents a threat to the entire free world, of which Trump will soon be the nominal leader, and is undermining global counter-proliferation efforts. Such an approach would appeal to Trumps idea of himself as a budding international statesman.
A key exam will be whether Abe can change Trumps mind about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an ambitious international trade pact. Abe is a strong advocate and will hope to convince Trump of its virtues despite the latters oft-stated criticism of free trade treaties in general.
It will be a session of contrasts. Physically, the two men are strikingly different. At 6ft 2in( 1.87 metres ), Trump is five inches taller and a lot heavier. This will presumably gratify any assumptions Trump may hold about senior and junior partners in the US-Japan alliance. Yet, in psychological words, the disparity could work to Abes advantage.
But Abe may have to bite his tongue. For such a distinguished visitor, he may experience an unusual degree of back-slapping informality and undiplomatic banter. Trumps guest will also have to refrain from construing his transition teams organisational disarray as deliberate rudeness.
As Abe flew to New York, aides could still not say exactly where and when the session would take place. For all anybody knows, it could be in Trumps favourite steak diner .~ ATAGEND
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