WASHINGTON - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will seek support for a trans-Pacific trade pact that has divided U.S. lawmakers as he makes the first address by a Japanese leader to a joint meeting of Congress.

Abe will be promoting his staunch support of an even-tighter relationship between former wartime adversaries in both trade and defense as the allies contend with a rising China, and can expect a warm reception Wednesday morning.

But the Japanese leader, who has faced opposition at home to the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, lands in the midst of a bruising battle in Washington over legislation that would give President Barack Obama the authority to negotiate a deal that is a cornerstone of his second-term agenda. In a reversal of politics-as-usual, it's Obama's own Democratic base that opposes him, and Republicans who support the deal.

After an Oval Office meeting with Abe on Tuesday, where the two leaders declared progress in bilateral trade talks that are critical for completing a wider TPP agreement among nations accounting for 40 percent of global GDP, Obama conceded to reporters: "It's never fun passing a trade bill in this town."

Abe, who called for an "early conclusion" of TPP, may play a small part in trying to tip the balance in what is viewed as a strategic push to shape the economic future of Asia-Pacific. His ambassador to Washington, Kenichiro Sasae, told reporters last week that he expected Abe "would appeal to Congress that we need to work together to make this TPP a success." (AP)