Japan hopes for 'unwavering alliance' with US under Trump

Japan's prime minister says Tokyo is committed to boosting ties with Washington, highlighting hopes of the creation of an "unwavering alliance" with the United States under the administration of President Donald Trump.

Shinzo Abe's call for stronger relations with Washington came during a meeting with the visiting US Defense Secretary James Mattis in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, on Friday.

Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted the premier as saying, "We are sure and hope that we will be able to show steadfastness of the Japan-US alliance under the new administration of Trump."

Mattis, who is on his first overseas official tour under the Trump administration, hailed the importance of security alliance between Japan and the United States. "We stand firmly, 100 percent, shoulder-to-shoulder with you and the Japanese people," Mattis told Abe.

"I wanted to make certain that Article Five of our mutual defense treaty is understood to be as real to us today as it was a year ago, five years ago and it will be a year and 10 years from now," the US secretary of defense said in remarks at the start of his meeting with Japanese officials.

Mattis' trip to the region comes amid heightening tensions between the United States and China especially over the issue of the South China Sea.

Abe was among several heads of state whom Trump phoned after his victory in the US presidential election. However, he agitated China with his remarks on the South China Sea and his phone conversation with the Taiwanese president as well as negating the so-called one-China policy.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida had a separate meeting with Mattis.

Trump and Abe agreed to meet in Washington on February 10, according to the Japanese prime minister. "I hope to have a frank, meaningful exchange of opinions with him on a broad range of issues from the economy to security," Abe said.

Before his visit to Japan, Mattis visited South Korea, where he met top officials to discuss issues related to North Korea and the planned deployment of an advanced US missile system, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, in South Korea.

Mattis said Washington was committed to the security of its Asian allies. The comments were apparently made to allay South Korea and Japan’s concerns about the new US administration’s policies.

During his presidential campaign, Trump threatened to withdraw US forces from both Japan and South Korea unless they paid more to cover the costs of stationing US forces.

The United States shares nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea and another 47,000 in Japan.

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