Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid an unofficial visit to Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, in order to maintain a relationship of trust with the latter. Noting that the Japan-US alliance is the axis of Japan’s diplomacy and security, Prime Minister Abe said that he aims to ‘build trust’ with the new US President. Moreover, Prime Minister Abe wants to further bolster the coalition between Japan and the US.
It has been reported that the US President has mentioned in one of his interviews that, “Japan is better if it protects itself against this maniac of North Korea,” leaving the officials of Japanese government concerned. Abe had to break protocol to take the opportunity to have an in-person meeting with Trump. Although the Japanese government has been assured by Trump’s team not to take Trump’s campaign words literally, Prime Minister Abe is said to have to start building a relationship with Trump from scratch.
Vocabulary:
latter – denoting the second of the two persons or things mentioned
axis – an agreement between governments or politicians to work together to achieve a particular aim
diplomacy – the management of relationships between countries
bolster – strengthen
coalition – alliance
protocol – the official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions
True or False:
- Donald Trump paid a visit to Japan’s Prime Minister.
- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he aims to ‘build trust’ with the new US President to strengthen the alliance between Japan and US.
- Abe managed to stick with the protocol despite his unofficial visit to Trump.
- US President Trump said Japan does not need protection from North Korea.
Express your opinion:
- Do you think it was necessary for the prime minister to break protocol in order to give way to the informal meeting with the new US President?
- Do in-person meetings aid in strengthening relationships between countries?
- Does the alliance with the United States help boost the diplomacy and security of Japan?
Defend your argument:
- How significant do you think the USA is to the rest of the world?
- Why should a country spend time and effort in fortifying its relationship with other nations?