Trump could unsettle US-Japan relations

AMONG speculated relationships Donald Trump is likely to have with other world leaders when he becomes president of the United States, that with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ranks in popular interest behind those with Russian and Chinese leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, respectively.

Yet much hangs upon how well Mr Trump and Mr Abe get along. Either the status quo will continue with Japan serving as an "unsinkable battleship" for the US (to quote former Japanese leader Yasuhiro Nakasone) or it will be cut free to navigate in new waters.

Mr Abe was the first foreign leader to meet Mr Trump after the property magnate's election victory, and the Japanese leader expects to meet him again after his inauguration next week. So far, this rush to pay tribute does not seem to have done Mr Abe much good. Mr Trump has promised - "threatened" is a better word - to withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement on his first day in office on Jan 20. That was a real blow to Mr Abe, who saw Japan and the US as the key players in this important politico-economic pact.