TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is heading to Washington to try to make sure President Donald Trump doesn't overlook Japan's security and other concerns at the unprecedented US-North Korea summit next week.
Abe will have less than two hours to make his points to Trump at the White House tomorrow, ahead of the American president's June 12 meeting in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Japan has fallen behind China and South Korea in the recent burst of diplomatic engagement with North Korea.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have both met Kim twice, as Abe waits his turn.
Abe doesn't want Trump to strike a compromise that would leave Japan exposed to shorter-range missiles that do not threaten the US mainland.