Will Japan Save American Jobs? Trump, Shinzo Abe To Discuss Investments That Could Add Over 700,000 Positions

When President Donald Trump was on the campaign trail, one of his biggest promises was to create American jobs, vowing to stop companies from making jobs abroad. But it may not be Trump who generates the greatest number of manufacturing jobs during his first months as president — instead, it may be Japan. The country may create 700,000 jobs in the U.S., build a $7 billion factory and strengthen the American economy.

The jobs could come from a Japanese investment plan Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to present Friday to Trump in Washington, D.C. "The investment will be by a Japanese consortium that will also include manufacturing equipment makers," an unidentified source told Reuters last week.

Japan was expected to invest in both private and public funds and focus on developing U.S. infrastructure by way of high-speed railways in Texas, California and the northeastern U.S. The plan would also create closer ties between Japan and the U.S. by including global infrastructure investment, artificial intelligence research, and collaboration on topics like space exploration and cybersecurity, according to Reuters.

The Japanese display maker Sharp Corp. was also considering building a plant in the U.S. during the first half of 2017, although Sharp has not confirmed whether the plant will be built.

Despite this, some Japanese officials were wary of Trump and were afraid that the meeting between the two world leaders would turn sour, Reuters reported.

Trump reportedly wanted to talk about a bilateral trade deal — that is, a trade agreement between only two countries — connecting the U.S. and Japan. Abe, however, would prefer a multilateral deal between many countries, which is unlikely after Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations in his first week in office.

After Abe and Trump meet in Washington, D.C., they will head to Trump’s Mar-a-Largo resort in Florida to play golf over the weekend. The game has special significance — Abe’s grandfather, who was also a prime minister, played golf with President Dwight Eisenhower in 1957.