NEW YORK, April 24, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Donald Trump met with former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso in New York on Tuesday, part of the Republican's shadow diplomacy as he campaigns to return to the White House in November's elections.

Trump welcomed Aso to Trump Tower, one of the real estate magnate's properties in New York, where he is currently on trial accused of falsifying business records to cover up an affair with an adult film star.

"He is a highly respected man in Japan and beyond, somebody that I've liked and I've known," Trump said of Aso at the start of their meeting, according to a video posted on social media by his aides.

"We like each other and we'll be talking about Japan and the United States right now and lots of other things also," he added.

When he's not in court, Trump has been talking to foreign officials and criticizing the policies of President Joe Biden, his rival who defeated him in 2020.

In recent weeks, the Republican nominee-in-waiting has met with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Polish President Andrzej Duda and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

A close ally of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, Aso is still considered a heavyweight in Japan's Liberal Democratic Party.

Without directly mentioning his meeting with Aso, Trump raged Tuesday about the exchange rate between the yen and the dollar -- with the dollar recently hitting a 34-year high against the Japanese currency.

"It sounds good to stupid people, but it is a disaster for our manufacturers and others," he said on Truth Social.