If Trump became president, “it would at the very least create confusion and carries the risk of triggering a major turning point for the Japan-US alliance and Japan’s overall diplomacy”, Maeshima said.

Given Trump's increasing erratic foreign policy positioning, the fact that he remains a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination is sending shockwaves around the world. And this is damaging the reputation of the United States (so-called ‘Brand America') internationally.