While some world leaders have reportedly had a difficult time getting in touch with Donald Trump as he remains holed up in Trump Tower, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe managed to get through. In what was the president-elect’s first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader since ascending to the role, Trump invited Abe to sit down for an impromptu meeting within the confines of his gilded halls on Thursday evening.

The 90-minute meeting, held in a room that would not have looked out of place in one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces, was significant for a number of reasons. It was Trump’s debut foray into diplomacy, for one. It was also a step toward quelling some of the anxiety Trump sparked among Japanese officials during the campaign, after he suggested that Japan was too dependent on U.S. military protection and that the country arm itself with nuclear weapons in order to protect itself from North Korea. His stark opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership—a trade agreement on which Abe has worked with President Obama as a cornerstone of Japan’s economic plans—also alarmed officials leading up to the sit-down. Pool reporters were not allowed into the meeting or offered the opportunity to ask questions before or after, and Trump’s camp did not provide photos of the event, beyond one the Donald himself posted on Facebook.

While the Trump transition team may have kept a lid on the meeting, the Japanese government provided a handout to waiting reporters, showing Abe seated next to Trump on a long, beige silk couch. Across from them was Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.

More photos published by Reuters show that Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner, the quiet force within the transition team who is reportedly in consideration for a top strategic role within the Trump administration, also greeted the Prime Minister.

Politico reported that Vice President-elect Mike Pence arrived at some point, though it is unclear for how long any of them took part in the meeting and what their roles were within it (such are the reasons that a presidential pool exists). A representative for Ivanka declined to comment, and a spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. A source close to the family emphasized that it was an informal meeting, and that Ivanka’s presence spoke to her longstanding relationship with her father, who trusts her and has always encouraged her to attend meetings with him. But as they adjust to their new reality, the family understands that “this isn’t something that would be regular occurrence.”

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Ivanka and Jared’s presence at the meeting fanned speculation that his favorite child and her husband, now among his most trusted advisers, will carve out a rarefied position within Trump’s White House—an unprecedented role for First Children or in-laws. Trump has faced a series of questions about his family’s involvement in his upcoming administration, particularly since they were named to the executive committee of his transition team. Inquiries have reportedly been made about giving security clearances to Trump’s children, and a top-level clearance for Kushner so he can sit in on presidential daily briefings (Trump himself denied that he was seeking clearances for his children, though a spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on whether they were seeking one for Kushner). Sources within Trump’s inner circle have said that Kushner could be named a senior adviser or special counsel to the President, according to The Wall Street Journal. Ivanka herself has said she plans to take no formal role, but will champion issues she is passionate about, including wage equality and child care.

Their involvement raises a host of ethical questions. For one, it appears to violate the 1967 nepotism law put in place after John Kennedy installed his kid brother Bobby as attorney general. But, as tends to happen with these restrictions, there are work-arounds, and if anyone is skilled at finding these loopholes, it is the Trumps. Kushner, for instance, could skirt them by not taking pay, for example, or serving as a key adviser without accepting a formal position.

Ivanka’s involvement in Thursdays meeting, and in the broader administration in general, comes with a whole different set of conflicting interests. Along with her two brothers, Donald Jr. and Eric, she is expected to take over her father’s business interests come January. Donald himself has said that he will hand over the reins to his children in a “blind trust,” but that is a misnomer, given that the patriarch still knows what his business holdings consist of and has a vested interest in supporting his children. And if Ivanka is going to sit in on meetings with prime ministers, advocate for policy, and share a bed each night with one of the president’s top advisers, the “wall” that Trump’s allies have claimed he will build between his children’s business interests and his own White House dealings will be as worthless as the one he has pledged to build between the U.S. and Mexico.

Trump’s transition team has yet to address how the family will handle these conflicts of interest in depth, but his ally Rudy Giuliani said over the weekend that he is sure they will figure it out. “You have to have some confidence in the integrity of the president,” he said on CNN last Sunday. “The man is an enormously wealthy man. I don’t think there’s any real fear or suspicion that he’s seeking to enrich himself by being president. If he wanted to enrich himself, he wouldn’t have run for president.”

Whether and how this could enrich his children and how they will continue to market their brand in connection with the presidency, though, is still a question that needs answering. Abe, the prime minister, who told reporters that they had a “very candid talk . . . in a very warm atmosphere,” reportedly walked away from the meeting with golf gear courtesy of the Trumps.