Japan's foreign policy this year is drifting into uncharted waters inhabited by President-elect Donald Trump. And the biggest diplomatic priority for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be to navigate the country through this fog of uncertainty by forging a close relationship with the new U.S. leader, who will be sworn into office Jan. 20.
In fact, Abe was quick off the mark. He became the first world leader to meet the president-elect following the Nov. 8 election. And it has been reported that the prime minister will have a summit with the 45th president of the United States later this month following his inauguration.
It is too early to tell if Abe can forge ties with Trump similar to those between Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and President George W. Bush in the 2000s.