TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s state visit to Japan (all times local):
5 p.m.
President Donald Trump has arrived in Japan for a state visit that will make him the first world leader to meet the country’s new emperor.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived Saturday aboard Air Force One after a 14-hour journey. The president was heading to a dinner with business leaders at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Tokyo after a brief airport welcome.
The visit is part of a continuing charm offensive by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that analysts say has spared Japan from far more debilitating retaliatory action by Trump.
The president has refused to lift the threat of slapping potentially devastating U.S. tariffs on imports of Japanese autos and auto parts on national security grounds.
U.S. tariffs against Japanese aluminum and steel remain.
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4:45 p.m.
A relatively strong earthquake rattled Tokyo just before President Donald Trump’s arrival Saturday but there was no danger of a tsunami.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency said the quake, registering magnitude 5.1, struck in Chiba, just south of Tokyo, at 3:20 p.m., about 40 kilometers (24 miles) underground. Trump was to arrive two hours later.
The agency said there was no danger of a tsunami from the inland quake.
The earthquake rattled dozens of cities, including Tokyo, where many reporters who arrived before the president’s visit felt the movement.
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1:30 p.m.
Japan is ready to roll out the newest phase of its charm offensive targeting President Donald Trump as it welcomes him on a state visit tailor-made to his whims and ego. This comes as Japan remains under the threat of potentially devastating U.S. tariffs on autos
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is offering high honors, golf and the chance to present a “Trump Cup” at a sumo wrestling championship. Abe, arguably Trump’s closest friend on the world stage, will continue a years-long campaign that experts say so far appears to have spared Japan from far more debilitating U.S. actions.
The stakes are high. U.S. tariffs could cripple Japan’s auto industry, while North Korea remains a destabilizing threat in the region.