Trump’s presidential plane landed at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Monday (local time). US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are traveling with him. Dozens of people gathered at the Japanese capital’s airport to take photos.
From there, Trump flew by helicopter to an evening reception by Emperor Naruhito at the imperial palace. Trump then described Naruhito as a “great man.” On Tuesday (local time), Trump is scheduled to meet Japan’s new conservative Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for talks and give a speech on the aircraft carrier “USS George Washington”, which is anchored at the US naval base in Yokosuka.
“I’m hearing phenomenal things. Takaichi was a close ally and friend of Shinzo Abe, who was my friend,” Trump told reporters, referring to the former Japanese head of government who was assassinated at a campaign rally in 2022. “This helps Japan and the United States. I think it will be great,” Trump added.
It is Trump’s first trip to Asia since returning to the White House in January. The first stop was Malaysia on Sunday. There he took part in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit and attended the signing of a peace agreement between Thailand and Cambodia.
On Wednesday, Trump will travel to South Korea, where he will have his first personal meeting with Xi since Trump returned to the White House on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
According to his own statements, Trump would also “very much like” to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his trip to Asia. On Monday he did not rule out extending his trip for such a meeting.
In response to the prospect of an agreement between the USA and China, the Japanese leading index Nikkei exceeded the 50,000 point mark for the first time in its history at the start of trading on Monday and closed at 50,512 points. There was also a record on the Seoul stock exchange in South Korea, with the leading Kospi index surpassing the 4,000 point mark for the first time.
Stock prices also rose in Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Not only Trump had shown confidence in the face of an agreement – positive signals also came from Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang. Bessent announced that there had been an agreement on a “framework for a decision” between the two presidents.
Bessent and China’s Vice Prime Minister He Lifeng had previously negotiated for two days in Malaysia. Bessent said on Sunday that Beijing was considering delaying export restrictions on rare earths for a year and resuming purchases of soybeans from the United States.
According to state media reports, the Chinese army simulated a military attack on Taiwan. State broadcaster CCTV published a report on Monday that the Chinese army “recently” sent H-6K fighter jets to conduct “simulated confrontation training in the sea and airspace around Taiwan.”
Taiwan’s defense ministry dismissed the report as a “clear propaganda operation to intimidate.” Data released daily by Taipei showed no significant increase in airspace violations by Beijing in recent days. China views democratic Taiwan as a breakaway province that should be reunited with the mainland – if necessary with military force.
