U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is willing to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in mid-January before his return to the White House, a Japanese government source said Thursday.
Japan is looking at the feasibility of such a meeting after it received the message from the Trump side, the source added.
If realized, it will be the first in-person talks between the two since Trump won a second, nonconsecutive term in November.
Ishiba initially explored the possibility of meeting with Trump on his way back to Japan after a trip to South America in November. But it did not materialize as the Trump side cited legal constraints preventing him from meeting with foreign leaders prior to taking office.
For any Japanese prime minister, forging close ties with the sitting U.S. president is considered essential. The two nations are working to strengthen their already robust bilateral security alliance in response to threats from China, North Korea and Russia.
