Side by side, againAMONG the books said to be by the bedside of Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, is “The Art of the Deal”, Donald Trump’s autobiographical ode to sharp-elbowed capitalism. Mr Abe appeared to borrow from the book’s brash credo last November: while the rest of the world was still gasping at Mr Trump’s election, Mr Abe jumped on a plane and went to meet the president-elect. It was Mr Trump’s first meeting with a foreign leader after his election. As a gift, Mr Abe brought a gold-plated golf club.
On February 9th Mr Abe will fly to America again, for a proper summit with the new president. This time he is bringing an even more lavish gift: a plan to create 700,000 jobs. The aim, the prime minister told parliament, is to help upgrade America’s infrastructure. His plan involves Japanese investment to build high-speed rail links in Texas and California, to decommission America’s fleet of ageing nuclear power plants and to collaborate in the development of robots and high-tech weaponry. Some of the money could come from Japan’s ¥135-trillion ($1.2 trillion) public-pension fund, the world’s...Continue reading
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