Donald Trump shuns Japanese food for American burger at golf club near Tokyo

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Japan might be routinely hailed as one of the best places in the world for food but that has not inspired Donald Trump to deviate from his strict all-American diet.

There was not a trace of ramen, sushi or tempura on President Trump’s plate at a casual lunch with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday.

The billionaire property developer instead relished in eating a hamburger sourced from American beef during his first trip to Japan as President. Mr Trump chose to have his burger well-done as he has become so famed for doing with his steaks.

"I welcome President Donald J Trump most wholeheartedly on his visit to Japan! We're getting down to business right away over hamburgers for our working lunch," said a message on the Facebook page of the Japanese prime minister's office.

President Trump played golf with Mr Abe at the Kasumigaseki Country Club - alongside professional golfer Hideki Matsuyama - on his first day in the country.

According to an excerpt from the book Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J Trump, during a trip to Japan back in 1990 Mr Trump said he would not eat "f***ing raw fish" and instead devoured a hamburger at McDonald's which cheered him up massively.

President Trump’s weakness for burgers and well-done steak has been well-documented as he has chosen to divulge his culinary tastes on various social media platforms. This has included eating a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken while reading The Wall Street Journal and indulging in a McDonald’s burger and fries to celebrate winning the Republican presidential nomination.

Mr Trump also heaped praise on McDonald’s at a CNN town-hall-style meeting in February of last year, saying: “The Big Macs are great. The Quarter Pounder. It’s great stuff.”

President Trump has stoked controversy for upending a box of fish food into a pond of koi carp during a tradition intended to welcome visiting guests at the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo.

He joined Mr Abe in feeding the valuable colourful fish, which are not able to eat large amounts of food, by spooning food from a box during the ceremony. Mr Abe finished by flicking the remaining food in his box into the pond at which point Mr Trump upended his with a smirk and made Secretary of State Rex Tillerson chuckle and Mr Abe smile in the process.

Twitter users said President Trump had crossed the line when he was seemingly only attempting to follow Mr Abe's lead.

Mr Trump is on the first stop of a five-nation trip through Asia - he will next head to Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.