Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday he wants to work closely with new U.S. President Donald Trump to elevate the longstanding bilateral alliance and achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific amid China's growing assertiveness in the region.Noting that the date of a summit meeting will be fixed soon, Ishiba said he wants to emphasize to Trump the benefits of enhancing bilateral ties while each country pursues its own interests, characterizing the U.S. leader as "favoring bilateral, rather than multilateral, arrangements."Japanese government officials are keeping close tabs on how …READ FULL ARTICLE
