Trump says to push Japan for freer trade; calls ties better than ever
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US President Donald Trump vowed on Monday to push for a free and balanced trade partnership with Japan after decades of "massive trade deficits" but said relations with close ally Tokyo were "better than we have ever had".
"The United States has suffered massive trade deficits at the hands of Japan for many, many years," Trump said at the start of a meeting with Japanese and US business leaders on the second day of a 12-day Asian trip that will focus on both trade and North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at the start of a working lunch with Trump, offered his "heart-felt condolences" for the victims of a gunman who massacred at least 26 worshippers at a church in Texas.
