US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lands in Japan, final stop on Asia trip

The US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plane touched down in Japan on Thursday (August 4) for the final stop on her Asian tour. She began the key tour from Singapore on Monday and after that, she arrived in Taiwan for a less than 24-hour stay which flared up tensions with China. Pelosi became the highest-profile elected US official to set foot in Taiwan in 25 years.

News agency AFP stated that reporters saw the aircraft land at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo as she is continuing her tour after leading a Congressional delegation in South Korea.

In the aftermath of Pelosi's Taiwan visit, Beijing launched large-scale military drills in the waters around Taiwan, whose defence ministry has confirmed that the Chinese military launched missiles from near Matsu islands. The ministry stated that 11 Chinese Dongfeng ballistic missiles had been fired in waters around the island.

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As reported by Reuters, China's Beijing-based Taiwan Affairs Office said: "Our punishment of pro-Taiwan independence diehards, external forces, is reasonable, lawful."

During her visit to Taiwan, Pelosi told Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, "Our delegation came to Taiwan to make unequivocally clear that we will not abandon Taiwan. Now, more than ever, America's solidarity with Taiwan is crucial, and that’s the message we are bringing here, today," she said during her roughly 19-hour visit."

ALSO READ |Nancy Pelosi trip fallout: Taiwan says China launched 11 ballistic missiles near its waters

Pelosi in Japan

The visit is Pelosi's first trip to Japan since 2015, and she arrived from South Korea where her schedule included a visit to the border with nuclear-armed North Korea.

She will meet Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for breakfast on Friday, the country'sforeign ministry said, to discuss the two countries' alliance and issues of shared interest. Pelosi is also scheduled to discuss international affairs with Japan's House of Representatives speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda.

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