Trump however pressed Ishiba to cut the US trade deficit with Japan to zero and warned that Tokyo could still face tariffs on exported goods if it fails to do so. Ishiba, an avowed “geek” and model warship fan, has been under pressure to replicate Trump’s close relationship with former premier and golf buddy, Shinzo Abe.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will go to the White House to try to rekindle Japan’s relationship with President Donald Trump — and to fend off potential tariffs.

IN HIGH SCHOOL, Ishiba Shigeru joined the golf club. But he abandoned the sport after entering politics. The elitist hobby did not suit his image as a man of the people from rural Tottori, in Japan’s west (never mind that,