ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump met on Monday with Japanese Emperor Naruhito in Tokyo, ahead of his planned meeting with newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Trump landed in Tokyo, the second destination in his three-nation Asia tour, after attending the 47th ASEAN summit in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Trump and Naruhito held a bilateral meeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo shortly after the former's arrival in the Japanese capital. "A great man," Trump said, pointing towards Emperor Naruhito as he left the meeting.

In talks with the Japanese emperor, Trump said he had made efforts to resolve conflicts around the globe since taking office, according to Jiji Press, which cited the Imperial Household Agency.

In response, Naruhito said that he is pained by the continued conflicts around the world, adding that he prays for peace.

Trump said that he wishes to further strengthen Japan-US relations under new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

For his part, Naruhito expressed his hopes for Trump's visit to further enhance the friendly relationship between the two nations.

On Tuesday, Trump will meet Japan’s first female Prime Minister Takaichi for the first time. The new premier welcomed Trump in a post on US social media company X, saying: "Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow and having a fruitful discussion on how we can further strengthen our great Alliance. Special lighting honoring President Trump’s visit is now illuminating landmarks across Tokyo!"

The US president will then fly to South Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday. Trump is also due to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss tariffs, trade, fentanyl, US agricultural products, and rare earths on Thursday.

Japan to ‘swiftly’ implement trade deal

Separately, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Monday that she had told US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during Monday's meeting in Tokyo that Japan will “swiftly and sincerely" implement a bilateral trade deal struck in July, according to Kyodo News.

The US agreed to impose a 15% tariff on Japanese cars and other goods, a rate lower than what was initially set or threatened. In return, Japan committed to investing $550 billion in US industries like semiconductors and artificial intelligence by January 2029 as part of the trade deal.

This agreement followed phone discussions from the previous Friday. Katayama, who took office last Tuesday in the Cabinet of newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, was involved in the talks.

Takaichi had earlier promised to renegotiate the tariff agreement made with the Trump administration.