On March 25, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a trilateral summit with U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye in The Hague. It did not lead to a breakthrough in the tension between Abe and Park. Nonetheless, this trilateral summit was considered a small yet critical step for the three countries to once again begin policy coordination to address security concerns in Northeast Asia, particularly North Korea.
Abe will have another chance to meet Obama in a month, when Obama visits Tokyo in late April. Abe should utilize these summit meetings to jump-start the process of reestablishing a sense of confidence with Obama, resetting the tone of U.S.-Japan relations.
Abe must reestablish trust with Obama
By Yuki Tatsumi
Japan
On March 25, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a trilateral summit with U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye in The Hague. It did not lead to a breakthrough in the tension between Abe and Park. Nonetheless, this trilateral summit was considered a small yet critical step for the three countries to once again begin policy coordination to address security concerns in Northeast Asia, particularly North Korea.
Abe will have another chance to meet Obama in a month, when Obama visits Tokyo in late April. Abe should utilize these summit meetings to jump-start the process of reestablishing a sense of confidence with Obama, resetting the tone of U.S.-Japan relations.
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Photo credit: CSIS: Center for Strategic & International Studies via flickr