tokyo u.s. president donald trump greet japanese emperor akihito empress michiko monday genteel handshake nod bow avoid pitfall u.s. president barack obama criticize home deep bow monarch trump wear suit tie wife melania long dark blue dress meet palace entrance royal couple wear suit trump smile shake hand nod 83-year-old emperor greet michiko well four enter palace chat interpreters footage air live television without sound customary meet trump shake hand tap emperor arm repeatedly leave hand thank great meet tell akihito sure meet obama come fire meet emperor tokyo 2009 critics back home say bow low akihito u.s. commentators say u.s. president low head foreign monarchs akihito spend much reign work heal wound world war ii wag across asia father name emperor hirohito obama also face criticism different quarter etiquette experts note combine bow handshake do japan traditionally whether meet emperor anyone else japanese guests suppose touch royal couple shake hand foreign guests often hillary clinton shake hand air-kissed empress cheek take hand enter palace meet royal pair secretary state 2011 month triple disasters earthquake tsunami nuclear meltdown hit northeastern japan march year traditionalists say japan chrysanthemum throne date back 2,000 years akihito first royal heir japanese imperial family marry common symbol japan new modernity confidence japan early year enact law clear way akihito step clear way first abdication japanese monarch nearly two centuries accession son crown prince naruhito late 2018 early 2019. akihito father emperor hirohito consider divine japan defeat world war two current emperor define constitution symbol people political authority although widely respect trump greet japanese emperor handshake nod bow