Trump Meets Japan Emperor as 1st State Guest in Reiwa

May 27, 2019

Tokyo- U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, met with Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo on Monday as the first state guests to Japan since the Emperor's enthronement.

The Emperor, when speaking to Trump, expressed his delight at being able to welcome the president.

The two couples met each other for the first time.

It was also the first time for the Emperor to have a meeting with a foreign leader since he acceded to the throne on May 1, when the new Japanese era, Reiwa, started.

According to the Imperial Household Agency, the two couples had conversations about how Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko, the parents of the Emperor, are doing and how the president and the first lady enjoyed watching professional sumo matches live on Sunday.

Trump said to the Emperor that he thinks Japan and the United States have built the current great relationship after overcoming various past histories including a war.

The two couples exchanged gifts at the meeting, held at the place's Take-no-Ma audience room. Trump and the first lady sent to the Emperor a U.S.-made viola and to the Empress stationery made from trees grown at her alma mater, Harvard University in Massachusetts.

Ahead of the meeting, a ceremony to welcome the president and the first lady was held at the palace's East Gardens, with the attendance of the Emperor and the Empress, as well as Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko.

This was the first ceremony to welcome a state guest at the Imperial Palace since the one held in May last year for then Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang.

Trump is the first state guest to Japan from the United States since former U.S. President Barack Obama's visit in April 2014.

The first couple arrived at the Imperial Palace at around 9:20 a.m. (12:20 a.m. GMT) and were welcomed by the Emperor and Empress. They shook hands with each other while exchanging greetings in English.

At the day's ceremony, the Star-Spangled Banner, the U.S. national anthem, and "Kimigayo," Japan's national anthem, were performed. Trump reviewed an honor guard.

An Imperial banquet will be held later on Monday at the palace's Homei-Den hall, the first such banquet to be hosted by the current Emperor and Empress. Jiji Press