US, Japan will maintain 'relationship of trust' under Trump: Shinzo Abe

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the first foreign head to meet US President-elect Donald Trump, has said both nations will be able to maintain a "relationship of trust" during his presidency.

Abe, who met Trump on Thursday for a "very candid discussion", said: "I am very honored to see the President-elect ahead of other world leaders."

"The Japan-US alliance is the axis of Japan's diplomacy and security. The alliance becomes alive only when there is trust between us," the CNN quoted Abe as saying.

It comes after Trump's repeated suggestions during the election campaign that Japan should shoulder a bigger financial burden regarding the US military forces stationed in the region.

A top aide to Abe, Katsuyuki Kawai, said that he'd been told by members of Trump's transition team that the latter's previous remarks should not be taken literally.

Abe declined to comment if they discussed defense issues or their disagreement over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, but stressed that he emerged "convinced that Mr. Trump is a leader in whom I can have confidence."

"I conveyed my various views on different issues, but since he hasn't assumed the office, I would like to refrain from touching on details," he said.