Trump-Abe summit big on symbolism but short on substance

Tokyo

JAPAN'S prime minister Shinzo Abe managed to get onto chummy terms with US president Donald Trump during two days of talking and golfing in the US at the weekend. But the cost to Mr Abe of "buying" the friendship of the unpredictable US leader could be high in terms of domestic political capital, some said.

Mr Abe's main takeaway from the summit appeared to be assurances from Mr Trump that the post-war US-Japan Security Alliance remains "unshakeable" in the face of China's expanding power projection (and a further provocative firing by North Korea of a ballistic missile at the weekend).