Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will seek to establish good personal ties and pitch the importance of the bilateral security alliance when he meets US President-elect Donald Trump in New York next week.
A Japanese government official said the pair had already talked by telephone and confirmed close cooperation, stressing the importance of the Japan-US alliance in the Asia-Pacific.
Abe will meet Trump in New York next Thursday before going to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.
"Trump may take longer than usual to build his administration as he searches for people to fill key policy positions," Tetsuya Otsuru, a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official, said in a speech in Tokyo.
"We want to safeguard our alliance with the United States during the transition."
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Trump's unexpected victory has fanned Japan's anxiety about Washington's commitment to security arrangements in the face of a rising China and a volatile North Korea.
His "America First" rhetoric and calls for Japan and South Korea to pay more of the cost for US troops in the region or face their possible withdrawal have worried officials.
Trump's transition team did not respond to requests for comment, but an adviser to the president-elect, who did not want to be identified by name, played down concerns about any changes in approach to alliances in Asia.
