The world awoke on Wednesday to the increasingly likely possibility that Donald J. Trump might achieve a stunning upset to become the next president, defying most polls, which showed Hillary Clinton with a modest if steady lead. Such a victory could upend international relations.
Criticisms of trade and immigration were central to his candidacy; Mr. Trump has professed admiration for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and once called climate change a Chinese hoax; he has criticized the American-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and he has demanded that the nation’s allies foot more of the bill for their defense. (Follow our Politics briefing for the latest from the election.)
Monitors displaying election news at a foreign exchange trading company in Tokyo on Wednesday. CreditYuya Shino/Getty Images
With markets in a swoon over a likely Trump victory, the Bank of Japan and the country’s Finance Ministry announced that they would hold an emergency meeting to discuss the surging yen and the plunging stock market.
“No matter which candidate is elected, the United States-Japan alliance is the key for United States-Japan diplomacy, and Japan will keep working closely with the United States for peace and prosperity, for Asia-Pacific and the world,” Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary, said at a regular morning news conference in Tokyo.
Asked about the Trans-Pacific Partnership — a proposed multilateral trade deal that the Obama administration began negotiating with 11 other countries but that neither Mrs. Clinton nor Mr. Trump supports — Mr. Suga noted that last November, the United States “confirmed that they will aim to ratify it as soon as possible.” He added: “We understand that President Obama is making full efforts to pass the bill within this year.” Japan, he said, would “of course” pass the trade bill.
A cardboard cutout of Donald J. Trump in the background as people watch the presidential election at an event at the United States Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday. CreditJason Lee/Reuters
China
The prospects of a Trump victory are being greeted with ambivalence in China, which has grown more assertive both at home and abroad during the presidency of Xi Jinping. Chinese officials had worried about the unpredictability of a Trump White House, while they were expecting a more hawkish United States policy toward Beijing on issues like the South China Sea if Mrs. Clinton was elected.Continue reading the main story
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