Has Abe got Trump's measure? Golf diplomacy puts Japan back on the green

Abe hopes Trump's hostile campaign rhetoric against Japan over trade can also be mollified

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe managed to be the first foreign leader to visit then president-elect Donald Trump last November. He was already embarking on his activist personal diplomacy to counter the bellicose rhetoric Trump occasionally aimed at Japan during his election campaign, accusing the country of unfair trade practices and currency manipulation, and threatening tariffs against imports.

Trump even implied an end to the US-Japan alliance, stating that Japan, along with other US allies, should develop its own nuclear weapons. But Abe’s first official meeting with President Trump last week –