President Donald Trump’s five-nation Asia trip got off to a low-key start Sunday as he enjoyed a round of golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The two leaders hit the links not long after a lunch of American-beef hamburgers, not long after Trump’s arrival from Hawaii.
But the display of friendship from Abe will soon give way to high-stakes diplomacy. Still, the two men have struck up an easy rapport.
Their formal talks are set to begin Monday in Tokyo. Abe will be looking for a united front against North Korea and reassurances that the U.S. will stand by its treaty obligations to defend Japan if falls under attack.
Eager to forge a bond with Tokyo’s crucial ally, Abe was one of the first world leaders to court President-elect Trump. He was the first to call Trump after the election, and rushed to New York days later to meet the president-elect and present him with a pricey, gold Honma golf driver.
The two men also met on the sidelines of an international summit in Italy this spring and White House officials said Trump has spoken with Abe by phone more than any world leader, aside from British Prime Minister Theresa May.
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