Shinzo Abe's long game is paying off. Only a year ago, the Japanese Prime Minister was looking like the odd one out as US President Donald Trump cozied up to China's Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Now, as Trump arrives in Japan Saturday for a three-day visit, Abe can justifiably say "I told you so."
Traits that last year left him out of step with Washington -- his hawkishness on North Korea and a testy relationship with Beijing -- now look more attractive, with Trump facing renewed challenges from Pyongyang and seeking a counterbalance to China amid a rapidly worsening trade war.
