The Japanese and US governments are arranging a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Donald Trump in Washington around February 10, a diplomatic source said Thursday. The two leaders are expected to discuss trade issues following Trump\u2019s issuing of an executive order Monday to , a 12-party free trade pact Abe has hailed as having both economic benefits and strategic importance. The meeting would be their first since Trump\u2019s inauguration last week. Abe and Trump held an in November last year shortly after Trump\u2019s election victory. In dumping the TPP, Trump has said he wants to focus on negotiating bilateral trade deals instead. Speaking in the Diet Thursday, Abe appeared to signal openness to working out a Japan-US free trade agreement or economic partnership agreement. \u201cWe will appeal (to the US administration) on the TPP, but that doesn\u2019t mean we absolutely can\u2019t also (sign) an EPA or FTA, as we did with (fellow TPP signatory) Australia,\u201d Abe said. The Japan-US security alliance is also likely to be high on the agenda in a bilateral summit. During his election campaign, Trump said Japan and other US allies should pay a greater share of the costs for stationing US military overseas. Abe is also likely to seek confirmation that Trump maintains certain positions held by his predecessor Barack Obama when it comes to regional issues, particularly the situation in the East and South China seas, where China\u2019s expansionary activities have raised concern. Abe said in the House of Representatives Thursday the government is \u201ccurrently making final arrangements\u201d for the talks, which he wants to hold \u201cas soon as possible.\u201d Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the Japanese government\u2019s top spokesman, said Thursday the governments are taking the demands of Japan\u2019s ongoing parliamentary session into consideration as they set a final date for the summit. Suga also welcomed the Pentagon\u2019s announcement the day prior that following a trip to South Korea from February 1.\u201cThe Japan-US alliance plays an essential role as the basis of peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, where the security environment is intensifying,\u201d Suga said. Suga indicated Defence Minister Tomomi Inada will explain to Mattis that Japan is already appropriately shouldering its share of the burden for the Japan-US alliance if the issue comes up in their talks in Japan.<\/p>\n