Abe's 'Japan First' slogan doesn't gel with his TPP role

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been sending mixed messages these days. He told an audience in Tokyo on Wednesday that he was following a "Japan First" policy, a term that smacks of US President Donald Trump's "America First" anti-globalization slogan.

To dilute the protectionist element in his slogan, Abe said Japan would pursue a path of global peace and prosperity.

After attending the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on May 14-15, Toshihiro Nikai, the secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Japan should join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank "at an early stage" .