Japanese PM, Trump meet in New York 

New York: US President-elect Donald Trump met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the first foreign head of government he spoke face to face since he won the November 8 election.

A spokesperson said that the meeting began on Thursday evening at 4.55 p.m., at New York's Trump Tower, Efe news reported. Although initial reports were that Vice President-elect Mike Pence would also be present at the meeting, that has not been confirmed and, in fact, the Indiana governor arrived at Trump Tower only a few minutes before it ended.

The meeting lasted for about 90 minutes and the details were not known yet. Spokespeople with Trump's transition team announced early Thursday that possibly more information about the meeting would be released after it ended, but they insisted that the get-together would be "very informal" and they did not expect significant results to emerge from it.

"I think any deeper conversations about policy and the relationship between Japan and the United States will have to wait until after the inauguration," said transition team spokesperson Kellyanne Conway. The Japanese premier made a stop in New York en route to Lima, where he will participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which President Barack Obama and other world leaders will also attend.

During the election campaign, Trump was very critical of a series of US trade deals, including the one known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership linking nations around the Pacific. He has also said that Japan is one of the countries that should pay more to the US for the military assistance Washington provides, something that has aroused concern in Tokyo and in other affected capitals.

IANS