President Donald Trump aims to reassure allies on his 12-day Asia trip.

President seeks to reassure allies over North Korean threat

FUSSA, Japan — President Donald Trump praised Japan as a “treasured partner” and “crucial ally” Sunday, as he kicked off a consequential first trip to Asia.

Trump landed at Yokota Air Base on the outskirts of Tokyo, where he was greeted by cheers from service members. Trump then donned a bomber jacket for a speech in which he touted American firepower and the U.S. alliance with Japan.

“Japan is a treasured partner and crucial ally of the United States, and today we thank them for welcoming

us and for decades of wonderful friendship between our two nations,” he said, speaking in front of an American flag inside an airplane hangar.

After the speech, Trump was set to head to a private golf course for an informal lunch and golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Trump was expected to exhort allies and rivals to step up efforts to counter the dangers posed by North Korea’s nuclear threat. Before he landed, Trump used the first moments of his trip to denounce North Korea as “a big problem” that must “be solved.”

“There’s been 25 years of total weakness, so we are taking a very much different approach” in dealing with the renegade regime in Pyongyang,” he said, speaking to reporters on Air Force One.

The 12-day, five-country trip is the longest Far East itinerary for a president in a generation.

“There’s a danger if there is a lot of muscle flexing,” said Mike Chinoy, a senior fellow at the U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California. “Trump has been going right up to the edge, and I wouldn’t rule out some sort of forceful North Korean reaction to Trump’s presence in the region,” he said.

Andrew Harnik The Associated Press President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump throw flower petals while visiting the Pearl Harbor Memorial on Friday in Honolulu. The president set out on a 12-day, five-country trip in Asia, with Japan as his first stop.