Trump Gets Royal Welcome in Japan

President Donald Trump was welcomed by Japanese head of state Naruhito after arriving in the country known as the “Land of the Rising Sun” on Oct. 27.

The two met briefly at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

No statements were provided by either side. Members of the U.S. media were not invited to the event.

The leaders first met in 2019, during Trump’s first term, shortly after Naruhito assumed the Chrysanthemum Throne.

A long line of Japanese emperors dates back millennia. Some served as divine figures, others as more traditional heads of state.

Japan’s current political system dates back to its constitution, which was forged by Allied forces between 1945 and 1947.

The document reduced the emperor’s political power, upgraded parliament’s ability to control laws, eliminated the right to wage war, and eradicated armed forces not used solely for defense, among other regulations, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department.

Trump will meet Japan’s newly elected prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, on Oct. 28 to discuss trade and security, among other things.

Takaichi became the first woman to serve as prime minister after she won the support of Japan’s lower parliament on Oct. 21.

“We’re just going to announce a great friendship,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One while flying to Japan. “It’s going to be very good.”

Following their talk, Trump will board the USS George Washington to address U.S. troops stationed in the region.

He will then attend a dinner with business leaders in Tokyo.

No details were provided regarding attendees or businesses represented.

The president is on the second stop of a three-leg tour of Asia that began in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

While in Malaysia, he oversaw a flurry of trade deals, rare earth minerals agreements, and a landmark peace treaty between the governments of Thailand and Cambodia.

Trump will next fly to South Korea for bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference.

He will also sit down with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30.

“I think we’re going to come away with a deal,” Trump said, referring to a trade agreement framework established in recent days.

Trump said he will visit China in early 2026 and that Xi could visit Washington, or the president’s home at Mar-a-Lago, sometime next year.

A reunion with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is also possible while Trump is in Asia.

“I'd love to meet with him if he wants to meet,” Trump said, noting that he is willing to extend his trip to accommodate a meeting.

The two leaders first met in 2019 during the president’s initial term, marking the only occasion a U.S. president has crossed the border into North Korea.