Former Prime Minister Taro Aso held talks with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday evening, as Japan scrambles to cover all of its bases in the event of the ex-president’s return to the White House.

Trump, escorting Aso into Trump Tower ahead of the talks, said it was a "great honor” to meet with the Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight, according to a video posted on social media by the former president’s aides.

“He is a highly respected man in Japan and beyond, somebody that I've liked and I've known through a very dear friend ... Shinzo,” Trump said of Aso, referencing the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "We like each other and we'll be talking about Japan and the United States right now and lots of other things also.”