The Latest: Abe announces plans to sanction North Korea
TOKYO (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's trip to Asia (all times local):
3:30 p.m.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh AH'-bay) has announced plans to take additional sanctions measures against North Korea over its escalating missile and nuclear development.
Abe said Monday he will announce Tuesday a freezing of the assets of 35 North Korean groups and individuals as Japan's own sanctions measure.
He made the announcement during a joint news conference after holding talks with President Donald Trump, who is on a three-day visit in Tokyo as part of his Asia tour.
Abe says North Korea dominated their talks, and that they are completely on the same page on the issue. Abe reiterated that it's not time for dialogue but to maximize pressure on North Korea.
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3:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump is stressing that the "era of strategic patience" is over with North Korea.
Trump is speaking Monday at a joint news conference with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He says: "some say my rhetoric is strong, but look what's happened with weak rhetoric over the last 25 years."
Trump stressed a strong relationship with Japan. He said the United State is "committed to improving our economic relationship" and that he wants a "free, fair and reciprocal trading relationship."
The president kicked off his Asian tour in Japan Sunday. He held a working lunch and a bilateral meeting with Abe and paid a formal state call on Japan's Emperor Akihito and his wife, Empress Michiko, at the Imperial Palace.
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3:02 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he has heard "very sad" stories from families of Japanese citizens snatched by Pyongyang's agents.
Trump participated in a meeting Monday with these families and appeared afterward with family members holding photographs.
Trump said what happened was a "tremendous disgrace" and promised to work with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to "see if we can bring them back to Japan."
North Korea has acknowledged apprehending 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s, but claims they all died or have been released. But in Japan the government insists more were taken - and believes some may be alive.
The White House hoped the meeting will elevate the issue to help pressure North Korea to end its provocative behavior toward American allies in the region.
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2:18 p.m.
U.S. First Lady Melania Trump is learning about Japanese calligraphy at a Tokyo elementary school.
The first lady visited the school Monday with her Japanese counterpart, Akie Abe. About 300 children welcomed them with a school song. Melania Trump posed for photos, shook hands and slapped high fives with the kids.
In the calligraphy class, she wrote the first Chinese letter of "peace," as Akie Abe wrote the second letter.
Melania Trump is accompanying her husband, President Donald Trump, on his first Asian tour, which kicked off in Japan.
On Sunday, two first ladies learned about the history of pearls at a jewelry shop in downtown Tokyo and had a private dinner with their husbands at a Japanese steak house.
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1:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he is making "tremendous progress" in talks with Japan.
Trump spoke before a bilateral meeting Monday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh AH'-bay). The two held a working lunch earlier in the day. Trump said it was a good meeting, with conversation on trade and North Korea. He cited progress "on trade in particular."
The president says he looks forward to continuing the work and says "friendships" have been built.
Trump kicked off his first Asian tour on Sunday in Japan. He is scheduled to hold a news conference with Abe later Monday.
Abe also said they had an "in-depth" discussion and he looked forward to continuing the conversation.
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12:18 p.m.
Japan's leader is offering his condolences after a mass shooting at a Texas church.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh AH'-bay) said Monday that he would like to express "our sincerest solidarity with the American people at this difficult time." He spoke to reporters ahead of a summit meeting in Tokyo with President Donald Trump.
Authorities say 26 people were killed and about 20 others wounded in the attack in Sutherland Springs.
Abe said that he and Trump would discuss various international issues, starting with North Korea. He said he hopes that the talks will show the world that the U.S.-Japan alliance is solid. He did not take any questions.
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12:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump has been officially welcomed to Japan by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh AH'-bay).
Trump, Abe and their wives stood in a grand plaza outside the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo on Monday as the Japanese Self-Defense Forces honor guard played music.
Trump and Abe then walked along red carpets laid out across the cobblestones to approach the military band.
The president and the prime minister introduced each other to their respective delegations before they ventured off together to feed Asian carp fish in a koi pond.
But Trump did not appear amused by the animal feeding. He started out by tossing big handfuls of food pellets at the fish before he emptied the entire box into the pond.
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11:20 a.m.
President Donald Trump is meeting with Japanese Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump called upon Akihito and his wife, Empress Michiko, on Monday morning, their motorcade driving past beautifully manicured pines and deciduous trees bursting with color.
The president nodded at the emperor and shook hands as he arrived. The Trumps were then ushered into a receiving room where they spoke to the imperial family with assistance from translators. Reporters were unable to hear the conversation.
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10 a.m.
President Donald Trump has raised the touchy issue of trade with Japanese business leaders.
Trump says in remarks to business leaders in Tokyo that the U.S. and Japan will have "more trade than anybody ever thought" possible under the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the trade deal, to the dismay of many in the region.
Acknowledging disagreement with that sentiment, Trump says he'll ultimately be proven "to be right."
Trump says the U.S. has also suffered "massive trade deficits" with Japan for many years. He says he hopes to turn that around.
Trump also complained that millions of Japanese cars are sold in the U.S. but that virtually no U.S. cars are sold in Japan.
He says "we'll have to negotiate that out," adding that "we'll do it in a very friendly way."
9:45 a.m.
President Donald Trump is pitching the U.S. to Japanese business leaders, saying he's made it easier for them to get projects approved.
Trump is talking about efforts he's made to roll back regulations. He described the CEOs he addressed at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Tokyo as the "rock stars of business."
Trump says he wants to make the U.S. the most attractive place for local companies to hire, invest and grow.
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8:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump is getting down to business in Tokyo on the second day of his maiden trip to Asia.
Trump opens with a speech Monday to American and Japanese business leaders, then joins first lady Melania Trump for a welcoming ceremony and meeting with Japan's emperor.
In the afternoon, Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh AH'-bay) will meet over lunch and with their staffs, and hold a joint news conference.
Trump and Abe spent Sunday together. They played golf and chatted over lunch and dinner.
Trump and his wife are also meeting Monday with the families of North Korean abductees - to put a human face on the North's human rights abuses.
He'll end the day at a state banquet.
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7:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump is stressing his close ties with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The two leaders dined with their wives in Tokyo, as part of Trump's first stop on a 12-day trip through Asia.
Trump says that he and Abe "like each other and our countries like each other." He adds that "I don't think we've ever been closer to Japan than we are right now."
The president adds that they are discussing a number of subjects "including North Korea and trade and other things
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4:45 p.m.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he and U.S. President Donald Trump had a lively conversation over golf.
Abe spoke to reporters after he and Trump had lunch and played golf Sunday. He said that the two leaders were able to talk frankly in a relaxed atmosphere while out on the course.
Abe said he and Trump were able to "carry out in depth discussion, at times touching on various difficult issues."
Their formal talks Monday are expected to focus on North Korea and other regional and bilateral issues.
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4:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump's first trip to Asia began with a round of golf, a custom cap and a hamburger of American beef.
The president got a taste of home as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed him to Japan Sunday with a display of friendship that will soon give way to high-stakes diplomacy. The two men have struck up an easy rapport.
The leaders played nine holes of golf at Japan's premiere course.
The low- key start was a prelude to the formal talks planned in Tokyo Monday. Abe will be looking for a united front against North Korea and reassurances that the U.S. will stand by its treaty obligations to defend Japan if attacked.