Title : Japanese PM claims Trump and golf pro game was close
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Japanese PM claims Trump and golf pro game was close
- Trump hit the links Sunday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Hideki Matsuyama, currently the No. 4 ranked pro golfer in the world
- A senior U.S. official said the men did not keep score during the 9-hole game
- Abe jested Monday that the match was 'neck-and-neck' as he stood next to Trump at a news conference
- Trump did not dispute his characterization; instead, he said that he'd had a 'truly enjoyable trip' to Japan and his relationship with Abe is 'extraordinary'
- The U.S. president leaves Japan on Tuesday morning local time for South Korea
President Donald Trump revealed Monday that his meeting last year with the Japanese prime minister at Trump Tower before he had been sworn was not an intentional slap in the face of outgoing U.S. leader Barack Obama so much as it was a miscommunication with Shinzo Abe.
Trump said at a banquet in Tokyo that he and Abe, who he now considers a friend, got off to a 'rocky start' in their relationship when the Japanese leader unexpectedly called on him last November in New York.
In a congratulatory call, Trump says he told Abe to come visit him 'anytime you want.' The newly-elected president intended for the visit to be at the White House after January. But then, he learned from Japanese press that Abe was on his way over in a plane.
Trump says his staff warned him that it would be inappropriate to meet with a foreign leader before he was sworn in.
'I said, there's no way he lands, and I don't see him. I saw him, and it worked out just fine,' Trump said, recalling the incident.
At the meeting, Abe gave Trump a gold driver valued at $3,755.
'It is the most beautiful weapon I’ve ever seen, so I thank you for that,' Trump said a toast to Abe at the Monday evening banquet.
Earlier in the day, Abe said a golf game Sunday that a golf game he and Trump played with a famed international golfer in Tokyo was 'neck-and-neck.'
Trump played nine holes with Abe and Hideki Matsuyama, currently the No. 4 ranked pro golfer in the world, after a leisurely lunch at Kasumigaseki Country Club near Tokyo.
A senior U.S. official told reporters during a debrief that the men did not keep score.
Abe jested Monday at a joint news conference that he and Trump nearly beat Matsuyama.
President Donald Trump goes in for a first bump with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) while playing golf with Japanese professional golfer Hideki Matsuyama (2nd R) at the Kasumigaseki Country Club Golf Course on Sunday afternoon
Abe jested Monday at a joint news conference that he and Trump nearly beat Matsuyama. Trump is seen shaking his hard just after Abe made the claim
Trump said he'd had a 'truly enjoyable trip' to Japan and his relationship with Abe is 'extraordinary' during the news conference at Akasaka Palace
Trum and Abe feed koi fish before their working lunch at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo on Monday. The U.S. president impatiently dumped his box of fish food in the pond
Recapping Trump's two days in Tokyo, Abe said through an translator that he'd had 'very serious discussions' with the U.S. president.
'I also had an opportunity to play golf with our top pro Hideki Matsuyama yesterday. Indeed, the match was a neck-and-neck competition, in my opinion,' he said. 'What was the reality? I hope that Mr. Trump will give his evaluation.'
Continuing, Abe said, 'The dinner where Mrs. Trump joined was in such a truly relaxed atmosphere that we almost forgot how time flew.
'I am greatly very much satisfied. I hope that they enjoy the banquet later on by all means.'
Trump smiled as his counterpart made the claim, declining to dispute Abe's characterization of the golf game moments later when it was his turn to make remarks.
Instead, he said that he'd had a 'truly enjoyable trip' to Japan and his relationship with Abe is 'extraordinary.'
There has 'never been a closer relationship' between the leaders of the two countries, he reiterated at the Monday afternoon presser.
Abe had flattering words for Trump at the Akasaka Palace news conference, during which the threat from North Korea reigned supreme.
'I believe that there has never been such close bonds intimately connecting the leaders of both nations as we do now in the history of Japan-US alliance of more than half a century,' Abe said.
'In particular, he received me with great hospitality last February on my visit to the U.S. at his villa in Florida. It became my unforgettable memory that we were able to discuss a variety of global issues over so many hours, quite frankly including several rounds of golf.
'And it is my particular delight that this time I am able to welcome my dear friend President Trump and Madame Melania Trump to Japan,' he added.
Abe greeted Trump yesterday with a set of white 'Donald & Shinzo Make Alliance Even Greater' ball caps he had created for the occasion. The leaders signed them in front of the cameras but ditched them before they hit the course.
Their wives, Akie and Melania, met up separately on Sunday afternoon for tea. Mrs. Abe and Mrs. Trump also received a lesson on the history of pearl diving, according to the first lady's spokeswoman.
President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hold up hats they have both signed that read "Donald and Shinzo, Make Alliance Even Greater" at Kasumigaseki Country Club on Sunday. They had lunch and went golfing this afternoon
President Donald Trump, left, greets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Kasumigaseki Country Club
They played nine holes of golf together after enjoying a leisurely lunch at the country club
First lady Melania Trump (C) arrives at Mikimoto Ginza Main Store in the fashionable Ginza district of Tokyo on Sunday
Melania Trump is welcomed by Japanese First Lady Akie Abe (L) upon arriving at Mikimoto
First lady Melania Trump listens to a sales manager of Mikimoto, while accompanied by Japanese First Lady Akie Abe during her visit to Mikimoto Pearl main store in the Ginza district of Tokyo
In the middle of his country club outing, President Trump tweeted a video of himself wearing a white USA hat, whacking a golf ball.
'Playing golf with Prime Minister Abe and Hideki Matsuyama, two wonderful people!' he said.
Trump and Abe reunited later for an upscale dinner in Tokyo.
The leaders and their wives enjoyed a private meal at Ginza Ukai Tei, where dinner courses cost at least $200.
Entering the restaurant, Trump told reporters that he had an 'extraordinary' relationship Abe and that they would continue the discussions they began at lunch at their upcoming dinner, 'where I think we will insult everybody by continuing to talk about trade.'
Trump and Abe dined at one of Tokyo's finest restaurants with their wives on the first evening of the U.S. president's visit
US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Emperor Akihito (C) as Empress Michiko looks on at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Monday
Trump leaned over to look at his wife and Abe's wife as he made the quip, grinning after he said it.
'And we’re doing very well. I think we’re doing very well. The relationship is really extraordinary,' the U.S. president said of his informal conversations earlier in the day with Abe, who stayed silent as the visiting leader addressed a pack of press.
'We like each other, and our countries like each other, and I don't think we’ve ever been closer to Japan than we are right now,' Trump asserted. 'So it's a great honor. Believe me. It's a great honor.'
Trump and Abe became fast allies during an Oval Office meeting in February shortly after Trump took office. The U.S. president and his wife gave Mr. and Mrs. Abe a lift after that to the Palm Beach club that Trump retains ownership of.
The billionaire president's guest for the weekend, Abe played a round of golf with Trump at the private resort during the trip that the Japanese PM described today as 'unforgettable.'
Trump was seen making use of the $3,755 gold golf driver that Abe gifted him when he won the presidency during their Mar-a-Lago excursion. U.S. officials did not say if he brought the driver with him to Japan.
U.S. first lady Melania Trump waves to photographer as she and her Japanese counterpart Akie Abe, left, visit Mikimoto Ginza Main Store, Japan's pearl jewelry maker
Mrs. Abe met with Mrs. Trump at the Mikimoto Ginza store in Tokyo while her husband met with the U.S. president
The two women had tea together and took in the culture of Japan, the first lady's spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said
Trump and Abe met again today for talks on trade and the global security threat that's posed by a nuclear North Korea. They'll dine together one last time this evening at a banquet before Trump leaves Japan for South Korea.
The Trumps arrived in Tokyo on Sunday morning local time after an overnight flight from Honolulu.
Mrs. Abe met with Mrs. Trump at the Mikimoto Ginza store in Tokyo while her husband met with the U.S. president. The two women had tea together and took in the culture of Japan, the first lady's spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said.
In the evening, the couples went to Ginza Ukai Tei, a Japanese fine-dining establishment that’s described on its English-language website as having an ‘atmosphere where art-nouveau and Japanese style meet, and it is just like a museum.’
The Trumps arrived at Yokota Air Base at Fussa in Tokyo on Sunday
President Trump spoke to the troops before departing the Air Force base for his golf game with Abe
Trump is helped in putting on his Commander in Chief jacket upon taking the podium
Trump and Abe’s low-key Sunday preceded an afternoon of rushed talks today and a meeting with families of Japanese nationals whose loved ones were kidnapped by the North Korean government.
The U.S. president also participated in a state call with Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.
Tokyo is Trump's first overseas stop on a 12-day race around the region. The U.S. president left Washington on Friday for Hawaii, which he used as a stopover on his way to Japan.
Trump will travel to South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines before he heads back to the U.S.
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