U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House on Friday and said the two countries would work to cut Washington's trade deficit with Tokyo amid escalating trade tensions threatening to rupture the global economy.

Ishiba said his country was the biggest investor in the United States and would step up its spending. The soft-spoken, cigarette-smoking Ishiba had rushed to Washington hoping to

Trump’s meeting with Japan’s prime minister ended with a tariff warning, but praise from the Japanese side eased tensions.