. >> abc's devin dwyer is traveling with the president. he joins us, now, from tokyo. good morning, devin. >> reporter: good morning. president obama is finally keeping good on his rain check from last year. that's when the government shutdown canceled his last planned visit here to asia. today, he embarks on his fifth trip to the region, here in japan. the white house says president obama's trip is all about reassuring u.s. allies here that they are important and valued, even though so much attention right now is focused elsewhere. as we have heard, the situation in ukraine is hanging over all the meetings here in asia today. some countries in asia, worried that russia's action in crimea could influence or inspire china or north korea to be more aggressive. president obama plans to highlight the role of the u.s. military here in asia. over the next few days, he will

abc's devin dwyer is in tokyo this morning. good morning, devin. >> reporter: good morning. president obama's visit to japan is in full swing, with plenty of pomp and pageantry. and some tough words for russia and china. mr. obama arrived at the imperial palace this morning, in his armored cadillac, decorated with japanese plates. the emperor greeted obama with all of the honors for an official state visit. it's the first for an american president here in nearly 20 years. by the president's side, caroline kennedy, the popular new u.s. ambassador to japan. later president obama got down to business with japanese prime minister abe. both men discussed the crisis in ukraine and possible new sanctions against russia. president obama said those could be coming soon. >> so far, the evidence doesn't make me hopeful. it is a matter of days and not weeks. assuming that they do not follow through, we will follow through on what we said, which is there will be additional consequences on the russians. >> reporter: president obama also said the u.s. military would defend japan in a dispu