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

U.S. President Donald Trump meets Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for the first time on Friday as two allies wary of China's rise work to boost business and security ties while an escalating trade war threatens to rupture the global economy.