Japan PM, Trump play nice despite tariff threat

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US President Donald Trump struck a warm tone at their first meeting on Friday, with Tokyo avoiding tariffs that Trump has slapped on other allies -- for now.

Heaping praise on each other at the White House, the two leaders pledged to stand together against Chinese "aggression" and said they found a solution for a blocked deal for troubled US Steel.

Trump however pressed Ishiba to cut the US trade deficit with Japan to zero, and warned that Tokyo could still face tariffs on exported goods if it fails to do so.

Ishiba, an avowed "geek" and model warship fan, has been under pressure to replicate Trump's close relationship with former premier and golf buddy Shinzo Abe.

Both leaders insisted they had struck up a rapport during what was only the second visit by a foreign leader of Trump's new term.

'Frightening'

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"I was so excited to see such a celebrity on television in person," Ishiba told their joint press conference -- while saying he was not trying to "suck up."

"On television he is frightening and has a very strong personality. But when I met with him actually he was very sincere and very powerful."

As they exchanged photographs, Trump praised the 68-year-old Japanese premier as "good looking" -- typically one of the former reality TV star's highest orders of praise.

And the US president laughed and said "that's a very good answer" when Ishiba said he could not respond to a "theoretical question" about whether he would retaliate to any US tariffs.

Trump meanwhile said that Japan's Nippon Steel will make a major investment in US Steel, but not take over the troubled company as previously negotiated.

Trump said "they'll be looking at an investment rather than a purchase." His predecessor Joe Biden had blocked the deal.

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The two leaders also doubled down on decades-old US ties in security and trade -- despite fears that Trump could turn on Tokyo as he has with other US allies.

Chinese 'aggression'

Trump said they had agreed to fight "Chinese economic aggression" and in a joint statement they condemned Beijing for "provocative activities" in the contested South China Sea.

They also called for a denuclearized North Korea, although Trump -- who met its leader Kim Jong-un during his first term -- said he wanted to have "relations" with Pyongyang.

Behind Trump's expressions of support were Japan's promises of a 1 trillion dollar investment in the United States and to boost Japanese purchases of US defense equipment.

Ishiba said his country was the biggest investor in the United States and would step up its spending.

The soft-spoken, cigarette-smoking Ishiba had rushed to Washington hoping to blunt the edge of Trump's "America First" policies.

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Under Abe, Japan was shielded from some of Trump's more punishing tendencies, such as sudden trade wars and pressure to increase financial contributions towards hosting US soldiers.

Days after Trump's first election victory, Abe rushed to deliver to him a gold-plated golf club. Trump also hosted Abe's widow Akie for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida this past December.

So far the US president has slapped tariffs on China and ordered them on Mexico and Canada before halting them for a month.

He has also pledged tariffs on the European Union and said Friday that he would announce unspecified "reciprocal tariffs" next week.

Source: AFP