US President Donald Trump has spoken to outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, reviewing their friendship and the close alliance between the two countries.
“Just had a great conversation with my friend, outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,” Trump said in a late night tweet On Sunday. Mr Abe will soon be hailed as the greatest prime minister in Japan’s history. Japan’s relations with the United States have never been better. He is a special person.”
Mr. Abe stunned Japan’s political establishment Friday when he announced his resignation for health reasons.
Japanese media reported Saturday that Mr. Abe is considering holding telephone talks in the coming days with world leaders who have built trusting relationships over the years, including a planned phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on August 31.
Abe made a special trip to the United States to meet with the future U.S. president after Trump won the 2016 presidential election but before he was sworn in, becoming the first foreign head of government to do so and earning Trump’s trust.
Over the past eight years, Prime Minister Abe has forged an “Abenomics model” that has revitalized the country’s economy. He has worked to strengthen security ties with the United States, stood up to China’s expansionist behavior in the region, and actively expanded Japan’s role in regional and international security affairs.
In recent months, Abe has been accused of novel Coronavirus epidemic incompetence, resulting in a serious economic setback, and his public support has suffered as a result.
Opinion polls show former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, current chief cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Defense Minister Taro Kono as the front-runners to succeed Abe.
U.S. Defense Secretary Stephen Esper asked Taro Kono to convey his best wishes to Prime Minister Abe when he met with him in Guam on Saturday.
The two defense ministers said they will continue to stand firm against China’s destabilizing actions in the region, including attempts to undermine Japan’s jurisdiction over the Senkaku Islands.
China calls the islands the Diaoyu and insists it has indisputable sovereignty over them.
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