Trump to meet widow of former Japan PM Abe on Sunday, source says

By Nandita Bose

(Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is planning to meet with Akie Abe, the widow of the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on Sunday over a private dinner at his resort in Florida, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The meeting comes as Tokyo seeks to forge close ties with Trump before he takes office on January 20.

The U.S. is Japan's most important economic and security partner, while Tokyo is a key Washington ally, hosting military bases on China's doorstep.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had sought to travel to the United States to meet with Trump after the G20 conference in Brazil on Nov 18-19 but the meeting never materialised.

After Trump's 2016 election, Shinzo Abe was the first foreign leader he met and they maintained a strong relationship through his first term in the White House. Trump has often spoken fondly of Abe, who was assassinated in 2022 while giving a speech in Japan.

While Akie Abe holds no government position, she has served as one bridge between her country and Trump. Trump has called her regularly to check in on her since her husband's assasination, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins wrote on X earlier on Thursday.

Melania Trump, the president-elect's wife, will attend the dinner, Collins wrote.

The Trump transition did not respond to a request for comment.

Ishiba told reporters on Nov. 16 that the Trump transition team had informed them that under U.S. law, the president-elect could not meet with foreign leaders before assuming the presidency. Since the election, Trump has met with several foreign leaders, however, including Argentinian President Javier Milei and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Akie Abe could not be reached for comment. Her plans to travel to the United States in the hopes of meeting with Trump was reported earlier this week by Japanese media.

The Japanese government has declined to comment on her reported plans to meet with Trump.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in West Palm Beach, Florida and John Geddie in Tokyo; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)