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Yoshihide Suga affirms US-Japan alliance in first phone call with Donald Trump
- The new Japanese leader told Trump that Tokyo’s cooperation with Washington was the foundation of regional peace and stability
- Suga and Trump agreed to work closely together on issues including the coronavirus pandemic and North Korea
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Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Donald Trump on Sunday discussed the importance of their countries’ alliance in phone talks, their first since Suga took over as Japan’s new leader.
The new Japanese leader said Trump told him they should further develop the Japan-US alliance, a cooperation which Suga said was the foundation of regional peace and stability.
Speaking to reporters, Suga also said Japan and the US agreed to coordinate closely on issues including the coronavirus situation as well as North Korea.
Denuclearisation talks between the US and North Korea have stalled after Trump held three meetings with the North’s leader Kim Jong-un. Abe hit a roadblock in efforts to retrieve Japanese nationals abducted by the North in the 1970s and 1980s.
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Earlier in the day, Suga had a phone conversation with Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, the first head of government he has spoken to since his inauguration.
After talking with Trump, Suga said he was willing to hold telephone talks with other world leaders, without elaborating.
Suga on Wednesday became Japan’s first new leader in nearly eight years, succeeding Shinzo Abe.
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