But while Abe has not been at odds with Trump publicly, early hopes that the billionaire developer’s campaign rhetoric on trade and defense was mostly for show have faded.
“At first I thought ‘He’s a businessman and he knows what he’s doing’… But he’s changed over the past half year. He seems to have become confident in a strange way,” said another
senior LDP official.
“The Trump administration is very unstable and we’re quite concerned.”
Trump’s remarks blaming “both sides” for violence between counter-protesters and white supremacists at an August rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, have also raised some concerns.
“To say discriminatory things that divide the American public touches on the core of the American people,” the second LDP official said. “To split the American public is not a wise
strategy … It is very serious and it is a worry.”
With Japan ultimately reliant on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for its defense, the growing reach of North Korea’s missiles has prompted concern about “decoupling” — the fear that Washington
will be unable or unwilling to defend Japan if its mainland comes under attack from North Korean nuclear-tipped missiles.
To assuage such worries, a joint statement issued after an Aug. 17 meeting of the allies’ foreign and defense ministers reconfirmed U.S. commitment to protect Japan “through the full range of capabilities, including U.S nuclear forces.”
Japan has also sought assurances that Trump will not launch a strike against North Korea without consulting Tokyo.
“I think if the U.S. were to take action, it would consult Japan beforehand,” the second LDP official said. “But I don’t know.”
