Among the gifts offered up by new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to U.S. President Donald Trump in their first meeting Tuesday was a putter used by Shinzo Abe, his golfing buddy and the country's late leader.
Displayed in a glass case alongside a gold-leaf golf ball and bag signed by Japanese major winner Hideki Matsuyama, the club was just one of a litany of references to Trump's bond with Abe that underpinned ties between the countries during his first term.
It is a bond that Takaichi, a protegee of Abe, who was assassinated by a lone gunman in 2022, will be eager to rekindle to bolster her minority administration and navigate thorny issues that might crop up such as defense spending, analysts say.
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