Donald and Trump" rel="tag">Melania Trump honored in Tokyo as first official foreign guests of ...

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are on their way to Tokyo, Japan to meet with the nation's new emperor and empress. 

The president stopped off on the way at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, as Air Force One landed for fuel, and he took time to meet soldiers stationed there.

In a video posted to Twitter, he said: 'We're here with our great military, these are great, great future leaders. And they can all be famous after this.'

Earlier, as he left the White House, the president fielded 14 minutes of questions from reporters - and none of them were about Japan, suggesting his mind was elsewhere. 

He proceeded to rage about the Mueller report from aboard Air Force One. 

He said in a tweet several hours into the longhaul fight: 'The Dems want a second shot at Bob Mueller, are very unhappy with the No Collusion Report. They should not be allowed to play this game any longer - no second chances - must get back to work. So bad for our Country!' 

Trump told reporters on the South Lawn, before he boarded Marine One to depart for the five-day trip, that Democrats are asking for a re-do of the investigations, and they can't have one.

He ignored questions about his intentions and plans for the visit and answered questions about his strained relationship with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the 'transparency' of his Attorney General Bill Barr, instead.

Since he embarked on the trip, he's sent a single tweet acknowledging the visit. 'Departed the @WhiteHouse and am now on Air Force One with the First Lady heading to Japan and looking forward to honoring, on behalf of the United States, His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan. I will also be discussing Trade and Military with my friend, Prime Minister @Shinzo Abe,' he said.

A senior White House official told press before Trump left that trade negotiations were not the focus of the trip and were unlikely to come up. But Trump signaled with his tweet that he plans to will the conversation in that direction.  

This is the Trumps' second state visit to Japan. The first lady joined him on a previous visit to the country in 2017.

This trip is centered around the enthronement of the new Japanese emperor and takes place over Memorial Day weekend. This will be the first time Trump has not been in the U.S. during the holiday that honors fallen soldiers. 

In 2017 and 2018, he made remarks at Arlington National Cemetery, where he also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Trump stopped at the cemetery earlier on Thursday to hold a moment of silence for soldiers who lost their lives while serving their country. He has previously come under scrutiny for skipping over Arlington on Veteran's Day, when he was celebrating the end of WWI with other world leaders in France.

The president and first lady are the first state guests of Emperor Naruhito, who ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1, following his father's early abdication.

The U.S. president will hold bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and give a Memorial Day speech to troops stationed at an American naval base in Yokosuka before he and Melania return to Washington. 

Over the long weekend, Trump will be the guest of honor at cultural events intended to flatter the visiting leader - including a sumo wrestling tournament where he'll present the winner with a prize – and showcase the strength of the nations' friendship.

At the naval base he is expected to inspect one of Japan's largest warships, the JS Kaga, which is being fitted out as what will be effectively the country's first aircraft carrier since 1945. 

'As Japan's first state guests following the enthronement of His Majesty Emperor Naruhito on the first of May, this visit by the President comes really at a historic moment in Japan and it demonstrates that the alliance between the United States and Japan has never been stronger,' a senior White House official told press in advance of the first couple's visit.

'The alliance serves as the cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region,' the U.S. official added. 'The United States' and Japan's shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific serves as the foundation for a global partnership that strengthens security, prosperity, and a rules-based order around the world.'

Touchy topics like regional security and trade are not on the agenda, however.

Little heavy lifting is anticipated on the visit that precedes the meatier gathering of leaders of the world's largest economies next month.

'I think that it's going to be a very kind of cordial, though kind of staged moment,' said Annika Culver, associate professor of East Asian history at Florida State University. 

'I doubt there's going to be anything really kind of accomplished, but these kind of important continuance or feeling of positive relations.' 

The American president's trade war with China and his desire to enter into an economic agreement with Japan have been put on the back burner.

'I don't think that the purpose of this trip is to focus on trade. It's really to be state guests of Their Majesties. And that's really the heart of the visit,' the U.S. official who spoke to press said. 'It's a celebration of their new roles and this new era that's been kicked off -- the Reiwa era -- and a chance to celebrate the alliance.' 

Trump will return to Japan in June for the convening of Group of 20 leaders that's taking place this year in Osaka.

He says he'll have summits with China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin

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