Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's visit to the United States for face-to-face talks with U.S. President Donald Trump — their first meeting as national leaders — ended with moderate success, contrary to the predictions of many in Japan, especially the prime minister's critics.
Before the visit, the mood in Tokyo was largely pessimistic. Ishiba was never a particularly powerful politician and only narrowly won the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election. In an attempt to boost his power base, he took a desperate gamble by calling a snap general election last year — only to suffer a crushing defeat. As a result, the Ishiba administration now leads a minority government forced to tread on thin ice.
What’s more, the U.S. president is now Trump, who has little interest in Japan without Shinzo Abe. Trump’s personality is the complete opposite of Ishiba’s, making it unlikely they would get along well. Since November, Ishiba has tried to boost his popularity by attempting to visit Washington, but Trump repeatedly turned him down. Can the two men have productive diplomatic discussions? This has been the prevailing question among political pundits in Tokyo until Ishiba’s visit on Friday.
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