MRS. NIXON and I plan to meet with Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, in Anchorage, Alaska, on Sunday evening, September 26, when Their Majesties are stopping there en route to Europe. I understand that this will mark the first time that any reigning Japanese Emperor has traveled outside of Japan.
We are honored that Their Majesties first set foot on American soil on this journey. This will also mark the first time that an American President in office and a reigning Japanese Emperor have met.
I look forward to this meeting not only as a personal pleasure but also as a means of demonstrating that fundamental respect and friendship which forms the basis of the relations between our two countries.
Note: The statement was read by Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler during a news briefing at San Clemente, Calif., on August 20, 1971.
Richard Nixon, Statement Announcing Plans To Meet With the Emperor and Empress of Japan Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240700