"Ishiva, reviewing Trump's pre-Inauguration meeting...He will emphasize his contribution to employment."

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will visit the U.S. in the middle of next month and decide soon whether to meet with President-elect Trump before taking office, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.

"We value Japan very much," Trump told reporters on the 16th, a day after a dinner with former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife and Akie, and said of the possibility of a meeting with Prime Minister Ishiba before taking office, "If Japan wants to, I will do so."

Since then, Trump's side has presented the Japanese government with a schedule for a meeting in the middle of next month, and the two sides continue to coordinate.

Nihon Keizai reported that the Japanese government should quickly establish a personal trust relationship with Trump and that there is a sense of caution that Trump could make excessive demands, so the schedule will be finally decided after judging the expected outcome of the meeting.

Ishiba also said he is considering a plan to show Japanese companies' contribution to expanding U.S. employment, which Trump values, in preparation for excessive demands in security and trade.