North Korea, trade, golf on President Donald Trump’s agenda in Japan

US President Donald Trump and Japan PM Shinzo Abe will meet on the golf course Sunday before holding formal talks on Monday.
He and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe largely see eye-to-eye on how to deal with the vexing problem of North Korea’s weapons development, even if a solution remains elusive. America’s trade deficit with Japan could be a point of contention, though Trump has aimed his recent rhetoric on trade at China, not Japan.
North Korea’s rapid advances in missile development are making the potential threat much more real for both Japan and the United States. As it seeks to send missiles farther, North Korea has test-launched two over northern Japan and into the Pacific Ocean this year. While they were too high to be seen or heard on the ground, the Japanese government set off emergency sirens and warnings advising people to seek shelter. Abe has pushed for stronger U.N. sanctions on North Korea, and joined Trump in saying China should do more to pressure its neighbour. Trump and Abe are likely to agree that what is needed is more pressure, not dialogue, as they have in the past.
One of Trump’s first moves as president was to pull the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement that had been signed with 11 other countries after years of tough negotiations. While widely anticipated, it was a blow to Japan and the other TPP members. In line with Trump’s preference for country-to-country trade deals, Vice President Mike Pence and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso have been leading an “economic dialogue” aimed at forging closer ties. Japan’s trade surplus with the U.S. is much smaller than China’s, and Japanese automakers, especially, have sought to mute criticism by setting up shop in the U.S. and hiring American workers. But Trump has complained about a weakening of the yen over the past five years that has aided Japanese exporters and other corporations with significant business overseas.