you're looking at live pictures right now. we're waiting for ining for a n conference between president trump and prime minister shinzo abe as the u.s. and japanese leaders try to find common ground over north korea and trade issues. plus, in europe, a mixed message. voters there bring in some nationalist parties to power. but also back liberal and green parties in parliamentary elections. we look at the destruction in oklahoma as tornadoes ripped through towns devastating entire communities. hello and welcome to our viewers, joining us here in

theite and the i united states and from around the world. i'm rosemary church. >> and i'm george howell. "newsroom" starts right now. ♪ and we begin this hour in tokyo, as we look at these live pictures where u.s. president donald trump and japanese president shinzo abe have been holding an emotional meeting with families of japanese citizens who have been abducted by north korea. president trump promised to work with mr. abe to try to bring those people home. >> emotional indeed, rosemary. in the meantime, we're mating for the u.s. president and the prime minister to hold a news conference there at the -- melania trump, we're just told entering the room. we're looking at these live images. the u.s. president soon to enter the room along with the prime

minister shinzo abe. we see john bolton there, who is in the room now. so this news conference set to happen at any moment. the two leaders met earlier for several hours. they talked about trade and military ties. of course, spoke about north korea. during the remarks a short time ago, president trump said the relations between the united states and japan are the strongest they've ever been, and that washington's relationship with north korea has come a long way. listen. >> a lot of things are happening, a lot of very positive things are happening on trade. i personally thing that lots of good things will come with north korea. i feel that. i may be right, i may be wrong, but there's been no rocket testing, no nuclear testing. there's been very little activity. >> all right. as you can see, the u.s. president coming in with japan's prime minister shinzo abe.

they are talking about these particular sensitive issues. north korea, military ties and trade. let's have a listen to see what they have to say. >> we would like to commence the press conference with president trump. in the beginning, prime minister abe will speak, which will be followed by the remarks by president trump. prime minister, the floor is yours. >> translator: on the first of may, the emperor ascended to the throne, and we now have the new era called reiwa. it is a pleasure that i'm able to welcome president trump and first lady melania as our first state guests in the new era. they are dearest friends for

myself and for my wife. without president trum-- last m celebrated melania's birthday together. next month he will be visiting japan again in order to come to the g20 osaka summit. because of the peace and security legislation, u.s. and japan have become an alliance where we can help one another. the bond has become rock solid. because of the very close personal relationship with donald, the bond of u.s.-japan alliance has become unshakeable, the closest in the whole world. in the new era of reiwa, u.s. and japan must lead for the peace and prosperity of the

region, as the genuinely global partners. this visit of president and madame trump to japan is a golden opportunity to clearly show the unshakeable bond to the whole world and inside japan, as well. i would like to express my gratitude to the friendship of president trump and madame first lady. at the summit talk today, bearing in mind are the latest north korean situation, we spent a good amount of time in better aligning our policies. the positions of japan and the united states in this regard are completely on the same page. president trump and madame melania continue to meet the family members of the abduction victims. just like two years ago when

they visit japan. they encouraged and gave comfort to the members of their victims. the resolution of the most important abduction issue at the earliest possible timing is what i am hoping for and i'm determined that i have to face chairman kim jong-un myself directly without any conditions. i will meet with the chairman and i would like to have discussion frankly in complete candor. president trump has expressed strong support to my determination as such by saying that he would support me totally and would not spare an effort in assisting me. continuously, we will have the close collaboration between the two countries. we hashall miss no opportunity,

and we will act resolutely. in today's summit meeting, we welcomed the steady progress of u.s.-japan cooperation, looking toward the creation of free and open indopacific, including energy, digital, and infrastructure. going forward, we will walk hand in hand, and promote cooperation for the realization of this common vision of our two nations. we will be promoting the idea forcefully. with countries concerned like australia, india, and france and the uk, we will fortify the cooperation toward the realization of free and open indo pacific. we will enhance and expand our efforts. we agreed on that. since president trump came to the office, japanese companies that decided on new investment to the tune of $24 billion to

the united states. thereby, cretiating 45,000 jobs. daring tax reform that the president conducted, thanks to that, automotive and energy related to japanese companies are making investments in pennsylvania, wyoming, michigan, kentucky and others. they have decided to make new investments. those contributing most in the usa economy are the japanese companies. it's been only one month since the last talks in a short span of one month, japanese companies increased their investments to the united states by $1 billion, and with this vigorous investment appetite, japanese

companies are deciding to make investment to the united states one after another. u.s.-japan economic relationship is developing in a major way in a modality of bringing in win-win situations. following the joint statement of september last year, mthe ministers are proceeding with a discussion, and i welcome this discussion. in today's talks between myself and president trump, we should achieve early outcome based on the relationship between our two nations. we shall accelerate the pace of discussion. we agreed on that. next month at the g20 osaka summit, president trump, i am going to welcome him again in osaka. i'm looking forward to it.

for the success of the g20 summit, u.s.-japan cooperation is indispensable. i will continue to collaborate closely with president trump. yesterday, i was able to talk with president trump on a variety of issues in a relaxed atmosphere, a game of golf, watching sumo wrestling, as well as dinner where our spouses joined. your friendship and truthful relationship was even more enhanced. the exuberance of joy shown by the crowd that i witnessed in the stadium, as well the frenzied excitement of the general public when the presidential cup was handed to the champion, indeed, a new page was added to the prestigious history of sumo. donald, i thank you very much.

tomorrow, together with president trump, i will go visit our escort ship anchored, and show the strong bond of u.s.-japan alliance to the people of japan and the world. lastly, once again, i would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to donald and madame melania for honoring us as the first state guests of the new era reiwa. president trump of the united states, the floor is yours. >> prime minister abe, the first lady and i are profoundly honored to return to this very beautiful nation as japan's first state get following the enthrownment of his majesty, the emperor. on behalf of the united states,

we want to thank the imperial family for this gracious invitation and warm welcome. it was really wonderful. melania and i are thrilled to be back in the land of the rising sun. it is a true privilege to take part in the splendor of this historic moment and witness an ancient japanese tradition as you begin the new imperial era. we look forward to seeing the new imper ror continue his father's extraordinary legacy. yesterday, melania and i were delighted to join you, prime minister, in attending a sumo tournament. i've always wanted to see a sumo tournament, so true. and they are bigger and stronger than i even thought. and your very impressive and new national arena where i presented the first-ever u.s. president's cup to the sumo grand champion. that was something. this morning, we participated in

a mag magnificent ceremony. japan's time honored customs and culture fill us with a deep sense of admiration. i want to thank all of the people of japan for welcoming us to this week and sharing your beloved heritage. it is truly an incredible heritage. this visit has also been a chance for prime minister abe and me to strengthen our close friendship and the friendship between our two nations. the alliance between the united states and japan is a corner stone of stability and prosperity in the region and around the world. the prime minister and i continue our close consultation in pursuit of peace and security on the korean peninsula. the essence of our approach is peace through strength. and this is a strong alliance

indeed, the u.s.-japan alliance is steadfast and ironclad. we want peace, and we want stability. we continue to hope that chairman kim seizes the opportunity to transform his country through denuclearization. it is a country with tremendous economic and other potential. the united states also remains committed to the issue of abductions, which i know is a top priority for prime minister abe. earlier today, i met for the second time with a group of jeez f japanese families who have suffered by having their loved ones abducteddy north kr by nor. our nations are also cooperating on a number of other security fittal i ata atal -- vital issu.

in recent months, we have greatly expedited the sale of large amounts of defense equipment to japan made in the united states. we make the best equipment in the world. in 2018, japan was one of the world's top purchasers of american defense equipment and it's announced its intent to purchase 105 brand new f-35 stealth aircraft. stealth is, because the fact is, you can't see them. this purchase would give japan the largest f-35 fleet of any u.s. ally. america and japan's close security ties are grounded in shared values. our armed forces train and serve together all around the world. tomorrow, i will visit american troops stationed alongside the japanese self-defense forces right here in japan. on behalf of all americans, i want to thank the japanese

people for graciously hosting our service members and american families. the united states and japan are also working to improve our economic relationship based on fairness and reciprocity. we are working on an agreement that will benefit both of our economies. the goal is to reduce our trade deficit with japan. remove trade barriers and barriers of all kinds so that u.s. exports will really have a fair and very profound footing. just over one week ago, u.s. beef gained full access to japanese markets for the first time since 2003. we hope to have even more to announce on the trade very, very soon. finally today, i'm pleased to confirm that prime minister abe and i have agreed to dramatically expand our nation's cooperation in human space exploration. japan will join our mission to

end u.s. astronauts to space. we'll be going to the moon, we'll be going to mars very soon. it's very exciting. and have a military standpoint, there is nothing more important right now than space. this is an exciting starting point for greater collaboration on many other things. mr. prime minister, our visit this week is a moving reminder of the strength of the u.s.-japan alliance, and the deep friendship between our people. it is a profound honor to be in japan at this important moment in your nation's history. for this new imperial era, your nation has chosen the name reiwa, meaning beautiful harmony. america shares this wonderful aspiration for the future, and i look forward to continuing our tremendous partnership as we work together to bring this noble vision to life.

thank you very much. much. now the floor is open for accepting questions. japanese media first, followed by the press accompanying the president. japanese person, please raise your hand and be recognized by me. regarding the american press, ms. sanders from the u.s. will decide the questions. first are the questions from the japanese media. >> translator: i have a question to prime minister abe on abduction. japan-korea summit meeting, do you think the problem will be resolved in one time meeting with chairman kim? or do you have to go through a plural number of meetings in order to seek solutions?

what time frame would you like to realize the summit talk? is it going to happen by the end of this year? in that sense, in that case, could there be discussions involving the u.s., as well? >> translator: regarding the relationship with north korea, first of all, i have to note the fact that president trump cracked open the shell of trust with chairman kim jong-un, shared the right future beyond the denuclearization and urging north korea to act. it's a new approach. i would like to pay tribute to his new approach. the most important thing is the solution of abduction issue. and it means that i have to directly see chairman kim face to face without attaching any conditions, and i meet him and frankly i must have discussion in complete candor.

at the summit talk today, to my resolution as such, president trump expressed that he will give all our support. he will spare no efforts in rendering adis efforts. president trump and family members of our abducted victims had a meeting. and president trump would look into the eyes of the family members directly and he was listening to the remarks very seriously. we have to resolve this abduction issue. this is the thought that i have, which is shared by president trump. once again, looking toward the resolution of the abduction issue, i would like to pay tribute and gratitude to the lavish understanding and support. now, including the points that you asked, on the topic of the

summit talk between japan and north korea, as of now, there is no specific goal in sight. but based on the japan-north korea declaration, we want to solve our comprehensive issues, like abduction, nuclear missiles. we must come to terms with the unfortunate past, and we must normalize the relations. this line is unchanged. abduction issue is the most important issue for the abe administration. family members of abductees have advanced in their age. as the president of the ldp, i have a -- also a one-time meeting could resolve the issue, you asked. irrespective of my term in office, i have to do everything i can all-out efforts of myself

for the resolution of this issue. as the prime minister, i have responsibility as such. going forward, i will discharge this responsibility and in order to do that, as the prime minister, day in and day out, i will do my best and all our efforts. >> the iunited states, the firs question will go to vivian of "the wall street journal." >> thanks, sarah. mr. president, prime minister, mr. president, i hope you'll inzul -- indull j me with two questions. if kim jong-un is not violating the missile agreement, what

would you consider a violation? >> first of all, i think kim jong-un, or chairman kim, is looking to create a nation that has great strength economically. i think he's very much -- i talk to him a lot about it, and he's very much into the fact that he believes like i do that north korea has tremendous economic potential, like perhaps few other developing nations anywhere in the world. and i think he is looking to develop that way. he knows that with nuclear, that's never going to happen. only bad can happen. he understands that. he is a very smart man. he gets it well. so i think that he is -- he is going to try at some point, i'm in no rush at all. the sanctions remain. we have our hostages back. we, as you know, are continuing to get the remains. a lot of good things are happening. and very importantly, there's been no nuclear testing for two years. i looked at a chart the other

day. during past administrations, there were many numbers that were have high, 10, 12, 18, having to do with missile launches and nuclear testing. for the first two years, on the bottom it had zero and zero. so i am very happy with the way it's going. and intelligent people agree. >> you're not bothered by the small missiles? >> i am not. >> last week you declared you won't work with democrats in congress until they stop investigating you. how are you going to explain with your voters when it comes at the expense of some of the promises you've made to them? >> there's never been a more tra transparent president. the mueller report came out, the democrats cannot understand what happened. they really thought they had some people on their side. the people doing their investigation were 18 extremely angry democrats, many of whom worked for and supported hillary

clinton. and bob mueller, i guess you could say he wasn't a friend of mine, but he did something that was the right thing to do. they can't get over the fact that i never spoke to russia, never dealt with russia having to do with the subject we're talking about. i will say this, that without question, we have done a job like few presidents have done. the only thing you can say about me that some people may not like is that i've created one of the greatest economies anywhere in the world. when i first met with yesterday with prime minister abe, the first thing he did is congratulate me on the incredible economy that we have in the united states. so i think that we will work with them. we have a usmca, a deal with canada and mexico. it's all done. i think they probably want to be doing that. ambassador lighthizer is here right now. that's a deal that's gotten

universal praise. unions love it, farmers love it, manufacturers love it. you won't have companies leaving and going to mexico and canada. it's a great deal. i would imagine that nancy pelosi will approve that. i would think it would be hard not to. but certainly as things get i pro -- get approved, i would love to sign them. >> thank you, mr. president. mr. prime minister, did you get any reassurances today from president trump that he will not impose tariffs on cars or auto parts six months from now? >> i want to hear this answer, too. >> translator: once a year in september, between president trump and i agreed on joint statement including auto and auto parts, currently based upon

the joint statement of september, the minister modi and ambassador lighthizer are discussing about this matter. so we agreed to accelerate the talk as such, and that was the agreement i reached with president trump. >> my second question. >> that's about four. i think probably that's enough. i think your come patriots will not be happy. thank you very much. >> translator: once again, a question from the japanese media. please. >> translator: i have a question to prime minister abe about the u.s.-japan trade agreement. before the election, there were some voices that expressed from some trade organizations. now the tariff level, the maximum that you can have is at the same of tpp is. that unchanged?

now, regarding the calendar, in the beginning of the talks, in august, there could be a major statement announcement. prime minister, that was the comment of president trump. do you agree with him? and in today's talk, what was the time frame? what was the scheduling of those matters? between the u.s. and japan, trade friction or trade debate is happening. what was the outlook on that relationship for japan? is there any mitigating role that japan can take? >> translator: two questions, i guess. last year in september, president trump and i agreed on the joint statement. based upon that, the two ministers are vigorously conducting discussions and talks. this time around, the minister

and ambassador lighthizer, between them, i think quite in depth discussion was held. with president trump, we agreed that the talks would be accelerated between the ministers. so we have a joint statement, and that must be the ground premise upon which we must create win-win result, which would be beneficial to both nations. that is my thinking. now, the next point of the question. u.s.-china trade negotiation. i think that was the question. they occupy number one and number two economic powerful position of the world. between the two countries, stable economic relationship is built, and that would benefit not only japan, but the asian countries and to the whole world.

it's very important that there be stable economic relationships. with a view as such, i hope that the continuous u.s. and china will go through dialogue in order to seek constructive solutions of the problem. today, with the president, we discussed economic issues. and the global economy was something that we also addressed. there are a variety of challenges in the global economy we discussed in today's talk. >> i would like to add very importantly, i have nothing to do with tpp, okay? i'm not bound by anything anyone else signs with respect to the united states. tpp would have destroyed our automobile destroy and many of our manufacturers. we are not involved in tpp.

so what other countries agree to is not binding to the united states. as far as china is concerned, they want to make a deal. i think they probably wish they made the deal that they had on the table before they tried to renegotiate it. they would like to make a deal. we're not ready to make a deal and we're taking in tens of billions in tariffs. and that number could go up substantially very easily. but i think sometime in the future, china and the united states will absolutely have a great trade deal. and we look forward to that. okay? thank you. >> the united states second question goes to jeff nayson of reuters. >> thank you, sir. i am going to ask two questions, if i can. first is a follow up on trade, can you lay out, mr. president, what japan needs to do to avoid auto tariffs?

and before you come back to the g20 in another month or so, do you expect talks with china to get back on track at all this je year? >> get to be the g20, i think we are very much discussing different things with japan. we have a large trade imbalance that has been there for many, many years. japan having the big advantage. they are brilliant business people, brilliant negotiators and put us in a very tough spot. but i think we will have a deal with japan. likewise, i think we will have a deal with china sometime in the future. many countries are leaving china because of the tariffs. china is subsidizing a lot of industry. foolishly, a lot of people said the american taxpayers are paying the tampbs of chriffs of. they're paying in a small

percentage, and they're taking in billions of dollars. our farmers, we're giving a relatively small percentage to the farmers, who have really been a focal point of what's going on with trade. as you know, they have earmarked and gone after the farmer, thinking that they're going to hurt the farmer. i'm going to negotiate a bad deal for the rest of the country. these farmers are great patriots. we've had meetings, i've had meetings with 32, 35, 40 farmers at one time. numerous times. and they don't want subsidy. i told that to you before. they want a level playing field. they're better than anybody in the world. and they told me, i'm going to get you subsidies wild china takes advantage of us, and china takes advantage of you, by pin pointing you. they said we don't want subsidies, we just want a level playing field. the american farmer, these are great patriots. they're unbelievable people.

and they're with me 100%. i believe we will have a very good deal with china sometime in the future. i don't believe that china can continue to pay these really hundreds of billions in tariffs, i don't believe they can do that. you know, businesses are leaving china by the hundreds, by the thousands, going into areas that are non-tariffed, including the united states, by the way. but they're going to different parts of asia. vietnam, japan, but they're going to a lot of places but also coming to the united states, because people don't want to pay the tariff. and if you look, there is no tariff to pay. all you have to do is move your company to the united states. there is no 25% tariff. but with all of that being said, i think there's a very good chance that the united states and china will have a very good trade deal. >> mr. president, a follow up on north korea. you tweeted about north korea yesterday. do you believe that they

violated u.n. resolutions with the short-range missile launch? and does it give you pause at all to be -- appearing to side with a brutal dictator instead of with a fellow american, the form vice president joe biden? >> kim jong-un made a statement that joe biden is a low iq individual. he probably is based on his record. i think i agree with him on that. but at the same time, my people think it could have been a violation, as you know. i view it differently. i view it as a man, perhaps he wants to get attention, and perhaps not. who knows? it doesn't matter. all i know is that there have been no nuclear tests. there have been no ballistic missiles going out. there have been no long-range missiles going out. and i think that some day we'll have a deal. i'm not in a rush. tremendous sanctions being put on the country of north korea,

and, again, kim jong-un understands the unbelievable economic potential that country has. it's located between russia and china on one side, and south korea on the other. and it's all water front property. it's a great location as we used to say in the real estate business. i think he sees that. i have to tell you one other country, i really believe that iran would like to make a deal. i think that's very smart of them and i think that's a possibility to happen also. >> in terms of criticism that you're sort of supporting a dictator instead of an american vice president. >> when i look at what's been done by our vice president and the president, when i look at the horrible iran deal they made. look what happened since i terminated the iran deal. iran, when i first came into office, they were fighting in many location all over the middle east. they were behind every single major attack, whether it was syria, yemen, whether it was

individual smaller areas, whether it was taking away oil from people. they -- involved with everything. now they're pulling back because they have serious economic problems. we have massive sanctions, and other things. we just said the other day steel, copper, different elements of what they used to sell. the oil is compaessentially dri. i'm not looking to hurt iran, but i'm looking at iran to say no nuclear weapons. we have enough problems in this world with nuclear weapons. i think iran -- again, i think iran has tremendous economic potential, and i look forward to letting them get back to the stage where they can show that. i think iran -- i know so many people from iran. these are great people. it has a chance to be a great country. with the same leadership. we're not looking for regime change. we're looking for no nuclear

weapons. if you look at the deal that biden and president obama signed, they would have access, free access to nuclear weapons where they wouldn't even be in violation in just a short period of time. what kind of a deal is that? so we can't have that. so i don't take sides, but joe biden was a disaster, his administration with president obama, they were basically a disaster when it came to so many things. whether it was economy, whether it was military, defense, no matter what it was. they had a lot of problems. so i'm not a fan. >> one question from the prime minister. sir, do you share president trump's optimism about north korea, and his position about the recent missile launches? and could you tell us and perhaps tell us what you told the president what you expect or

would like to achieve if you travel to iran and hold talks with iran? >> translator: president trump conducted a summit meeting with north korea, together with chairman kim. he agreed on the denuclearization of the korean peninsula and signed the document. there was great significance in that. he cracked open the shell of distrust, so that the future -- bright future can be shared and urge north korea to act accordingly. this was a new approach, which i welcome. of course, north korean denuclearization, for many years, this was not achieved. but precisely because it was not achieved, difficult as it is, president trump just said that

he will make a challenge with a new approach. so we are most threatened among countries by north korea. so as the prime minister of such a country, such acts of president trump and policy, i will trust in it, and i would like to support it. in this context, abduction issue is of paramount importance. in hanoi, at the summit talk in hanoi, president trump, on behalf of my thinking, he conveyed and communicated my thinking to kim jong-un. and i, as well as the country of japan, are thankful. a moment ago, president trump met with the family members of the abductees. and they are very appreciative of president trump. so his approach is something

that everybody wants to have hope. so that was the view of the families of abductees. now, the launching of missiles this time. on the 9th of may, north korea launched a north-range ballistic missile. this is violating the security council resolution. so my reaction is, as i said earlier on, it is of great regret. but at the same time, between kim jong-un and president trump, certain new approach was taken, and that is something that i would like to pay tribute to. in any event, denuclearization of the korean peninsula is the goal. so u.s., japan, south korea, europe and other country also act in cooperation. so the u.s. and north korean

process would be supported. >> what about iran? >> translator: regarding iran. regarding the jcpa, we have expressed opposition. peace and stability of the middle east is very important for japan and the united states and also for the international community as a whole. it's very important. in this context, in order to make contribution for the peace and stability of the region, we would like to discharge whatever we can do. so whatever is possible for japan to do, we absolutely would like to do these going forward between japan and the united states, there should be close collaboration so that these

tensions surrounding iran should be mitigated and alleviated and shouldn't culminate in armed conflict. thank you very much. with this, we will conclude the press conference, joint press conference with president trump and prime minister abe. thank you very much. please remain seated until the leaders exit the room. [ applause ] >> thank you. >> the prime minister of japan shinzo abe, alongside the u.s. president donald trump, again, during this four-day state visit. the two speaking on a range of issues. president trump speaking about the relationship between the u.s. and japan, describing it as stad fast and ironclad and speaking on the issue of security, the issue of trade, north korea, and also an issue important to the japanese prime minister and japan, families that have been abducted by north korea. president trump also speaking about the ongoing trade war

between the united states and china. and speaking about how he is open to talks with iran. let's now bring in ivan watson. he's been following this news conference, as well. ivan, it was very interesting as well to hear that the japanese prime minister says that he's open to, and would like to have talk talks with the north korean leader kim jong-un. >> yeah, that's not the first time that the japanese prime minister has said this, and he repeated it. he repeatedly gave tribute to president trump for, as abe put it, cracking the shell of distrust with this new approach of direct face-to-face diplomacy with the north korean dictator. but also thanked president trump for making the issue of japanese

citizens allegedly abducted by north korea a central part of that diplomacy. when asked about the missile launches that were carried out by north korea, just on may 9th, a short-range ballistic missile launches, the japanese prime minister said directly this was a violation of united nations security council resolutions. meanwhile, president trump said that, yeah, he acknowledged that members of his own administration feel the same way, but that he doesn't see this as a problem. clearly, he is more invested in that face-to-face diplomacy with kim jong-un than in the violation of the united nations security council resolutions. president trump said he insists -- that he is patient, that he wants a deal with north korea, but he's willing to wait

and keep the sanctions in place until that deal is reached. so there are clearly some diversion group views on how to interpret those recent ballistic missile launches between shinzo abe and president trump. but both leaders are in agreement that this is potentially positive way forward, and certainly if president trump continues to raise the issue of abducted japanese citizens in his face-to-face discussions with the north koreans. >> ivan, that's the issue of security in north korea. president trump and the prime minister shinzo abe also talking about trade. president trump pointing out that he would like to see the united states gain ground when it comes to u.s. exports to japan. but also hearing some positive news from the japanese prime minister, pointing out that japan -- japanese companies have

invested he says $24 billion to the united states, with 45,000 new jobs. >> reporter: yeah. and this is something that actually president trump asked shinzo abe to speak about in front of journalists before they went into their bilateral talks. but the translators weren't able to catch up in time, and the japanese hosts ushered out to press before the prime minister was able to comment further on this. but the prime minister said that even between the last time that he and president trump met face to face in washington last month and today that he says that japan invested another $1 billion in the u.s. economy. so this is clearly seen as a bright spot between the two leaders, even though there are still areas where they're not in agreement, as president trump pointed out, that there is still a trade imbalance. japan still enjoys a trade surplus.

so while there's disagreement in that area, and president trump has made it clear he wants this fixed somehow and improved in the u.s.' favor, there are bright spots that both leaders enjoy. another area that was raised in the area of trade was the ongoing trade war between the u.s. and china. and the japanese prime minister indicated that when there is a trade war like this, that this hurts the global economy. it hurts japan's economy. in fact, the japanese government indicated that it's forecast for the japanese economy are worsening due in part to this trade war. that is something that it would like improved. and president trump says he's optimistic that china wants a deal with this u.s., and claims that this trade war is hurting china more than the u.s. we'll have to see where that

goes. we'll be watching because the leaders of japan, china, and the u.s. are expected to gather in osaka in japan next month for the g20. george? >> ivan watson following this for us in tokyo. ivan, thank you. we do want to bring in our pamela brown. she was there in the room as this joint news conference took place. so pam, talk to us about this situation. can you hear us okay? just nod if you can hear us. so basically what we saw is the two leaders there, u.s. president trump, and shinzo abe making, at pains, in actual fact to make it clear that their relationship was unshakeable, that it was ironclad. but we do know that problems persist between the two nations. we saw that for shinzo abe, very much the abductions, that his number one issue is that. and when we listen to president

trump, he very much down played the situation as far as missile launches with north korea. so talk to us about >> reporter: you're absolutely right. it was a delicate dance when it came to north korea because the two leaders wanted to appear united on all things. but it was very clear that there are cracks and they're not on the same page when it comes to north korea. prime minister abe started off saying he hopes there can be peace in the area in the peninsula. then when he was asked whether he shares president trump's optimistic view on north korea. and the prime minister said

bluntly that what happened recently with that testing was a violation of the unsecurity council resolution. president trump was asked the same question. when he was asked the first time, he didn't answer directly. he just said that the missile testing didn't bother him because it wasn't long range intercontinental ballistic missile and that nuclear testing had been put on hold the last couple of years so that's really what he focused on. then a reporter followed up with him on the matter and president trump said, some of my people do believe it's a violation, but i'm not bothered by it, i have faith in kim jong-un. as president trump was walking away i had the opportunity to ask him whether he still has confidence in his own national security advisor john bolton, because as you know, just yesterday in japan bolton agreed with the japanese that it was a violation of the u.n. security

council resolution. president trump nodded in response to my question and said, yes, he does still have confidence in him. >> pamela brown live from tokyo in that very room where president trump and shinzo abe held their joint news conference. we're going to take a very short break. we'll continue to cover this story when we come back. let's be honest. it's kind of unfair that safe drivers have to pay as much for insurance... as not safe drivers! ah! that was a stunt driver. that's why esurance has this drivesense® app.

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welcome back. for the last 40 minutes we saw the u.s. president trump alongside the japanese prime shinzo abe. the two leaders discussed a range of issues, everything from security to trade, also an issue that was very important there for the japanese prime minister and japan, the issue of families abducted by north korea. north korea, a major topic. >> indeed. shinzo abe made it clear that that was his number one issue. that wasn't necessarily shared by donald trump. he was very much emphasizing trade and downplaying the missile launches of north korea. that could very well going forward be a real sticking point for the two countries and the two leaders. they're still trying to work out trade, military ties and north korea. >> the news continues here on cnn right after the break.

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we are following the breaking news in tokyo. the japanese prime minister shinzo abe and u.s. president donald trump say they discussed north korea, economy issues and many other topics. welcome to viewers here in the united states and around the world. >> they also looked at the stability of the indo pacific region. >> they also announced the two country wilies will cooperate o human space travel. president trump made a special point to