US President Donald Trump invites Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi to Washington, with a meeting planned for spring amid regional tensions over Taiwan.
TOKYO: US President Donald Trump has invited Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to Washington during a phone call.
The two leaders agreed to work towards a meeting in the United States this spring, according to officials.
They spoke for 25 minutes and agreed to further strengthen economic and security cooperation.
The Japanese foreign ministry said the leaders “exchanged views mainly on the Indo-Pacific region and confirmed the close cooperation between Japan and the United States”.
The statement did not specify if they discussed China.
Tensions in the region are high following China’s live-fire military drills around Taiwan last week.
Those drills drew international criticism from Japan, Australia and European countries.
The invitation comes after Takaichi’s November suggestion that Japan could intervene militarily if Taiwan were attacked.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and threatened force to control it.
Takaichi’s comments triggered a sharp diplomatic backlash from Beijing.
China has since urged its citizens to avoid travel to Japan and suspended Japanese seafood imports.
