Trump says he could meet Ishiba before returning to White House

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he could meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba before he returns to the White House in January.

During a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump said of the Japanese side, "If they'd like to do that, I would do that."

Trump's remarks came a day after he and his wife hosted Akie Abe, the widow of slain former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at the estate.

According to Trump, Abe is "very close" to Melania Trump and the meeting on Sunday night materialized after she had called the former first lady.

Trump said the late Japanese leader was a "great man" and the three spent time together out of respect for him, adding he sent Ishiba a "book and some other things" via Abe.

About a month earlier, Ishiba was unable to hold an in-person meeting with Trump on his way back to Japan from South America.

Speaking to reporters in Peru after participating in an international meeting, Ishiba said at the time that according to Trump's team, the president-elect could not hold talks with him before taking office due to legal constraints.

Since then, however, Trump has held talks with other world leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron.

In Tokyo on Tuesday, Japan's top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said the government will seek an Ishiba-Trump meeting at an appropriate time.

"We hope that they can hold a meeting at a convenient time for both sides to exchange views thoroughly and build personal ties," the chief Cabinet secretary told a press conference. "We will continue to communicate (with the Trump team)."

Trump did not announce his pick for ambassador to Japan during the press conference but later said in a statement that he had tapped George Glass, a businessman from Oregon with a background in investment banking and real estate.

Trump's nationally televised press conference, the first since he won the election on Nov. 5, was set as an appearance with Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank Group Corp, to announce the Japanese technology giant's plan to invest $100 billion in the United States over the next four years.

But Trump later took a number of questions, including those related to foreign affairs.

Asked whether he has invited world leaders to his inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20, Trump said many had called to express their wishes to meet with him at an early date and "I'll be seeing some of them."

"I think it's rude not to, I mean it's hard to say 'I'm not going to see you,'" he said.

Trump said he did not know if Chinese President Xi Jinping would be interested in attending the inauguration, but added, "I would say that if he'd like to come, I'd love to have him."

While noting that "there's been nothing much discussed" about such a plan, Trump said the United States and China can together "solve all of the problems in the world" and that the bilateral relationship is "very important."

"He was a friend of mine," Trump said in reference to Xi. "We spent hours and hours talking, and he is an amazing guy. The press hates when I say that, but he's an amazing person."