Abe, Trump May Meet in U.S. on Sept. 25

September 2, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump may hold a meeting in the United States on Sept. 25, Japanese government sources said Friday.

The two countries' governments are considering arranging the bilateral summit on the fringe of the U.N. General Assembly session in New York if Abe wins a third straight term as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic party and stays on as prime minister as a result, the sources said. The LDP presidential election is scheduled for Sept. 20.

The Japanese and U.S. leaders are expected to discuss issues such as bilateral trade, and North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals decades ago and its missile and nuclear programs, the sources said.

The U.N. General Assembly session is set to kick off on Sept. 18, with leaders' speeches in general debates starting on Sept. 25.

Abe and Trump, who are both planning to visit New York for their U.N. speeches, confirmed during their phone talks on Aug. 22 that they will meet on the sidelines of the General Assembly session.

They are expected to play golf together on Sept. 24, the sources said.

The Japan-U.S. summit will be the first since Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Singapore on June 12 in the first-ever summit between the two countries.

The Washington Post recently reported that Trump told Abe during their meeting at the White House on June 7, "I remember Pearl Harbor," referring to Japan's surprise attack on the harbor in Hawaii in December 1941 that prompted the United States to join World War II. Jiji Press