🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump was given a royal welcome on the start of the week in Japan, the latest leg of a five-day Asia trip which he hopes to cap with an arrangement on a trade war truce with China's leader Xi Jinping.

Diplomatic Engagements

Donald Trump, undertaking his lengthiest overseas trip since beginning his term in January, announced arrangements with four nations in Southeast Asia during the initial leg in Malaysia and is expected to encounter Xi in South Korea on Thursday.

The former leader exchanged greetings with representatives on the airport runway and displayed a few fist pumps, before his aircraft whisked him off for a scenic night tour of the metropolitan city. His motorcade was afterwards spotted accessing the royal compound, where he met Japanese sovereign Naruhito.

Trade Arrangements

The former president has already won a $550-billion investment pledge from Tokyo in exchange for relief from strict customs taxes.

Japan's recently appointed leader, Sanae Takaichi, is hoping to additionally wow Trump with commitments to purchase US light trucks, soybeans and natural gas, and reveal an deal on vessel manufacturing.

The prime minister, who was appointed as Japan's initial woman prime minister last week, told Trump that strengthening their international partnership was her "primary focus" in a telephonic discussion on Saturday.

Additional Developments

• Washington and Beijing have agreed a structure for a commercial agreement mere days before Trump and Beijing's head Xi Jinping are due to meet. The finance chief the treasury head said the agreement, forged on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Malaysia on the weekend, would remove the risk of the enforcement of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports commencing 1 November.
• The former president has supervised the execution of a truce deal between the Thai nation and Phnom Penh on the first day of an Asia tour. The US president arrived in Malaysia on the weekend before the regional conference in the capital, Malaysia's capital.
• CAIR has charged the Trump administration of a "blatant affront to freedom of expression" after federal immigration authorities detained UK reporter, the writer, on the weekend.

The former president said he was anticipating having discussions with Takaichi, a strong supporter of his passed away associate and golfing partner, previous leader former PM Abe, remarking: "I think she's going to be excellent."

Official Comments

Additionally, Trump announced he would reject seeking the vice-presidency in the 2028 US election, an approach some of his followers have suggested to permit the conservative head to serve an additional term in office.

"I could to take that action," Trump said, in an conversation with journalists aboard the presidential aircraft.

However, he continued: "I wouldn't do that. In my opinion it's excessively tricky. Indeed, I would eliminate that option because it's excessively tricky. I think the citizens would disapprove of that. It's overly clever. It would not be - it wouldn't be appropriate."