Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba went into his first summit meeting with US President Donald Trump amid concerns in Tokyo that Japan could be next in the firing line of US allies after Canada and others.

President Donald Trump says he wants to slash the U.S. trade deficit with Japan. Trump made the comments as he welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the White House on Friday for their first face-to-face meeting.

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House on Friday and said the two countries would work to cut Washington's trade deficit with Tokyo amid escalating trade tensions threatening to rupture the global economy.

As he welcomed Shigeru Ishiba to the White House, Donald Trump added that he wasn't ruling out the possibility of tariffs against Japan, but believes the issue can be resolved without punitive action.

President Donald Trump said he wants the US trade deficit with Japan eliminated during a meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that saw the visiting Japanese leader highlight new potential investments by some of his country’s automotive giants.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has praised United States President Donald Trump as a “very sincere and powerful person.” Ishiba made this remark on Friday when asked by reporters about his impressions of Trump since he took office at the White House.