Trump open to meeting with Japan PM Ishiba in mid-January

    TOKYO, Dec. 19 Kyodo - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is willing to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in mid-January before his return to the White House, a Japanese government source said Thursday.

    Japan is looking at the feasibility of such a meeting after it received the message from the Trump side, the source added.

    If realized, it will be the first in-person talks between the two since Trump won a second, nonconsecutive term in November.

    Ishiba initially explored the possibility of meeting with Trump on his way back to Japan after a trip to South America in November. But it did not materialize as the Trump side cited legal constraints preventing him from meeting with foreign leaders prior to taking office.

    For any Japanese prime minister, forging close ties with the sitting U.S. president is considered essential. The two nations are working to strengthen their already robust bilateral security alliance in response to threats from China, North Korea and Russia.

    In recent days, Trump expressed his willingness to sit down with Ishiba, telling a press conference earlier this week, "If they'd like to do that, I would do that."

    Japan's top government spokesman, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said following Trump's remarks that Tokyo would maintain communication with the Trump administration to arrange a meeting at a "convenient" time for both leaders to engage in a thorough exchange of views.

    Trump's overture came to light after he met Sunday with the widow of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who forged personal ties with Trump during his first term as U.S. president.

==Kyodo