Policy differences evident amid US-Japan camaraderie

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet with Japanu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. Pic/AFP

Tokyo: Despite the extravagant display of camaraderie aimed at showing the strength of what Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the "unshakable bond" with the United States President Donald Trump, points of differences between the two leaders were visible, particularly on two fronts - North Korea, and trade.

Trump began his much-anticipated four-day visit to Japan against the backdrop of his recent tweet that played down the threat of the firing of short-range missiles by North Korea. The tweet holds significance particularly because it went against the recent statements by the Japanese government and Trump's national security adviser John Bolton that the missile test violated the UN resolutions. The US President on Monday reiterated his statement that he was not bothered about the missile test.

When the question of the missile test was put to Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister repeated the earlier statements where he had deemed them as "regrettable", while adding that he and Trump were in complete agreement over the issue of North Korea.

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Wife of Iran prez adviser shot dead
A news agency in Iran said a wife of an adviser to President Hassan Rouhani has been shot and killed at her home. Mitra Najafi was killed in northern Tehran. She is the second wife of Mohammad Ali Najafi, a former reformist mayor of Tehran and a Rouhani confidant. Such gun violence is incredibly rare in Iran, especially in the tony neighborhoods of northern Tehran.

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