President Trump will host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House later this month and visit Japan at the end of May, the White House announced Thursday.
Abe and his wife, Akie Abe, will visit the White House on April 26 and 27. Trump and Shinzo Abe will discuss ongoing efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and trade.
The president and first lady Melania Trump will then travel to Japan from May 25-28 for a state visit. The Trumps will be the first state guests following the country’s imperial transition and the enthronement of Emperor Naruhito next month.
{mosads}Trump will meet with the emperor, and hold a bilateral meeting with Abe, the White House said.
“The state visit will deepen the close bonds between the American and Japanese people and will highlight the continued importance of our alliance and partnership,” press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.
The state visit will be one of Trump’s two upcoming trips to Japan, who is also scheduled to attend the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June.
Abe has been one of Trump’s closest international allies, and the two have developed a strong personal relationship.
Trump last visited Japan in November 2017 as part of a multicountry trip to Asia, while Abe has made multiple trips to the U.S.
Abe has met with Trump at the White House and stayed at his Mar-a-Lago resort, where the two leaders played golf between bilateral meetings to discuss trade and other topics.
Trump has pressed for a fresh trade deal with Japan as part of broader efforts to renegotiate agreements with a number of countries. The president has yet to impose tariffs on Japanese cars amid negotiations.
Japan has also been a major U.S. partner in attempts to get North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to abandon his nuclear arsenal. Trump held a summit with Kim in February in Vietnam that ended without any commitments on denuclearization.