WASHINGTON -- U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis heads to Japan and South Korea early next month aiming to show that America's Pacific alliances still matter to the superpower, a trip that looks to position the retired general as the new administration's point man on Japanese policy.
China and North Korea will watch closely for signs of whether Trump seeks to strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance. Mattis appears intent on affirming exactly such efforts in a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Tomomi Inada.
