Story highlights Trump repeatedly launched broadsides against Tokyo during the campaign

Abe will use the opportunity to review Tokyo's sense of regional threats

Washington (CNN) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Donald Trump will meet at the White House Friday and then head to the golf course Saturday. They both need a win.

Trump, who is feuding with US allies around the world, needs to show he can master the diplomatic formalities that govern US relations with a region where tradition and symbolism are particularly important parts of power relationships and regional rivalries threaten the peace.

Abe is seeking to forge a personal bond with Trump that would surmount Japanese fears about his critical campaign trail rhetoric and reaffirm the US guarantees crucial to Japanese security as China asserts itself and North Korea threatens aggressive steps.

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To some degree, both leaders will be looking to reassure each other after a rocky start dating from Trump's days on the campaign trail -- the American President that he values the relationship and the Japanese Prime Minister that there is value in the relationship.

Trump repeatedly launched broadsides against Tokyo, which he has accused of taking US jobs, and rattled the Japanese public by suggesting the country contemplate going nuclear and stop relying on the US for defense. "You know we have a treaty with Japan where if Japan is attacked, we have to use the full force and might of the United States," he said in August. "If we're attacked, Japan doesn't have to do anything. They can sit home and watch Sony television, OK?"

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