Abe, Trump agree to hold meeting on Feb. 10 Abe wants to discuss economic and security issues with Trump

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to
reporters in Tokyo after a telephone
conversation with U.S. President Donald
Trump on Friday.
TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed on
Saturday to hold a summit in Washington on
Feb. 10.
It will be their first meeting since Trump
assumed the presidency.
The two spoke on Saturday by phone.
Afterward, Abe told reporters that he and
Trump "confirmed the importance of the
Japan-U.S. alliance in light of economic and
security challenges facing the countries."
He also said that during the planned February
meeting, he "wants to have a candid and
productive exchange of opinions on economic
and security issues as a whole" with Trump.
When they get together, Abe plans to confirm
that Trump will stick to the current policy that
Okinawa Prefecture and the Senkaku Islands
fall under Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. security
treaty, which defines the U.S.'s defense
commitment to Japan.
Abe looks to obtain assurance that the U.S.
will continue to concern itself with security
in the Asia-Pacific region by first discussing
the handling of the Senkaku issue.
China also claims the islands.
Japan may face a bumpy road ahead.
Throughout the long campaign, Trump
repeatedly asserted that the U.S.'s allies,
including Japan, should shoulder a greater
share of the expenses incurred by the U.S.
military and its far-flung bases.
After talking to Abe, Trump was to hold a
series of telephone calls -- with German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President
Vladimir Putin, French President Francois
Hollande and Australian Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull.