The two leaders first played golf in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, and then watched a grand sumo tournament. On Monday, Trump will become the first foreign head of state to meet Emperor Naruhito following the Emperor’s accession on May 1.
He will then hold summit talks with Abe. They are expected to discuss bilateral trade negotiations and other issues.
Attention is focused on whether Trump will press for concessions in the trade talks. Trump said Saturday night that he wanted to make bilateral trade “a little bit more fair,” referring to what he sees as a trade imbalance.
However, Trump indicated Sunday he will not push Japan for a bilateral trade agreement before a House of Councilors election in the summer.
Japan’s top trade negotiator with the United States said Saturday that both sides continued to differ on negotiations for a trade deal, adding that they need to work further to narrow the gap.
