TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that he agreed in phone talks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to hold a meeting soon, while confirming they will work to elevate the bilateral alliance.

After the Republican was elected U.S. president, Ishiba, who became prime minister on Oct. 1, told reporters at his office, "I got the impression" that Trump is "friendly" and a person who "I can speak honestly with."

Ishiba also congratulated Trump, saying his slogan "Make America Great Again" resonated with many people in the United States.

Japan and the United States have been deepening their alliance to tackle common challenges and make the Indo-Pacific "a free and open" region, in the face of China's growing influence.

Ishiba, who is expected to be reelected prime minister following a general election last month, has floated the idea of creating an Asian version of NATO and revising a bilateral accord defining the status of U.S. forces stationed in Japan, a sensitive issue.

During his first term as U.S. president, Trump built a personal rapport with Japan's then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who underscored the importance of the longtime security alliance amid China's increasing assertiveness and North Korea's nuclear and missile development.

Abe rushed to Trump Tower in New York in 2016 to meet Trump when he was president-elect, paving the way for them to deepen a personal relationship.

The Japanese government is aiming to arrange an in-person meeting between Ishiba and Trump at an early date, officials said.

During the roughly five-minute conversation, Ishiba and Trump did not discuss the need for Japan to boost defense spending further or shoulder more of the cost of U.S. military bases in Japan.

Ishiba said he wants to discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral alliance on various fronts, which would entail enhancing the interoperability of the U.S. military and the Self-Defense Forces.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference that the bilateral alliance will remain the linchpin of Japan's foreign and security policies, and the two countries will expand cooperation as global partners who play a central role in ensuring a free and open international order.