Press Conference by Prime Minister Ishiba regarding His Telephone Talk with U.S. President-elect Trump

Good morning. For five minutes this morning from 9:30, I had a telephone talk with Mr. Donald Trump, who has been elected the next president of the United States of America.

During this five-minute talk, we confirmed our intention to meet at the earliest possible time and agreed to raise the Japan-U.S. alliance further, to both a higher dimension and a higher stage. We ended our conversation by saying we looked forward to working well with each other. I will end my opening remarks here.

(On Prime Minister Ishiba's feelings after having the telephone conversation, including regarding Mr. Trump's character, and on whether Prime Minister Ishiba intends to meet with Mr. Trump during the overseas trip he begins next week)

Although the itinerary is still being coordinated at the moment, Mr. Trump and I agreed to arrange such a date and have a talk at the earliest possible time. He said he is looking forward to meeting me and speaking with me, and I share that same sentiment regarding him.

Although we spoke over the telephone, it was my first time to talk with Mr. Trump one on one. I felt our conversation was, in a nutshell, outstandingly friendly. My impression is that Mr. Trump is someone with whom I can speak candidly from now, with no holds barred and no need to mince words.

(On how Prime Minister Ishiba intends to respond to the possibility that, regarding security policy, Mr. Trump might urge Japan to shoulder a greater portion of the cost burden of stationing U.S. Forces in Japan or to increase defense spending further)

Naturally, we didn't talk about anything like that in today's telephone conversation.

In terms of reinforcing the Japan-U.S. alliance into the future, the question of what to do regarding the burden includes a financial element, a capability element, and also the matter of how we will proceed with our operations. So from now I intend to vigorously discuss our reinforcement of the Japan-U.S. alliance from various standpoints, including not only the financial aspect, but also, in practical terms, with regard to equipment and operations as well as from an integrated standpoint.

(On whether or not Prime Minister Ishiba sent a congratulatory message to Mr. Trump, and if so, what kind of message he sent)

Yes, of course. I expressed my sincere respect for his election victory and extended my congratulations. I also conveyed my respect for winning the approval of so many of the American people towards the appeal Mr. Trump made as a presidential candidate -- and he was still, at that time, a presidential candidate -- to "make America great again."