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Japan’s Emperor Naruhito treats Donald and Melania Trump to full-course French dinner and live orchestra music
- In delivering a toast to Trump, Emperor Naruhito said he and the empress felt ‘a sense of nostalgia and distinct closeness’ to the US
- Dinner menu included consomme soup à la Royale, turbot meunière with tomato sauce and rib steak
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Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako held a banquet for United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Monday, entertaining them with a full-course French dinner and live orchestra music.
The banquet was part of the programme prepared for the Trumps – the first state guests to visit Japan since the emperor’s enthronement on May 1 – who a day before watched a grand sumo tournament and had dinner at a Japanese charcoal grill restaurant with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie.
For the imperial couple, it was their first hosting of any banquet since they became emperor and empress. A total of 165 guests attended, including the Abes, Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko.
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The venue for the party was Homeiden, the largest room at the palace sized at 915 square meters with walls decorated with light clouds floating across an abstract sunset. Bouquets of roses were on the centrepieces on the tables.
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The Emperor and Trump wore tuxedos, while their wives both wore light dresses.
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