Obama lands in Tokyo to launch Asia tour
Wednesday, 23 April 2014
US President Barack Obama landed in Tokyo Wednesday to launch an Asian tour dedicated to reinvigorating his policy of "rebalancing" US foreign policy towards a dynamic Asia. Obama landed aboard Air Force One to begin a state visit to Japan, which comes as regional tensions boil over maritime territorial disputes and fears that North Korea could soon carry out a new nuclear test. The president touched down a day after nearly 150 lawmakers paid homage at a controversial Tokyo war shrine seen by neighbouring nations as a symbol of Japan's brutal imperialist past, and shortly after the prime minister made a shrine offering, according to AFP.