US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived Monday in Tokyo on an inaugural overseas trip.

"I have come to Asia as my first trip as secretary of state to convey that America's relationships across the Pacific are indispensable to addressing the challenges and seizing the opportunities of the 21st century," Clinton told reporters shortly after her arrival at Tokyo's Haneda airport.

"By strengthening our historic Asia alliances, starting right here in Japan, we can begin to build networks around the world to solve problems that none of us can solve alone," she said.

"The US-Japanese alliance is vitally important to both of our countries, to the Asia-Pacific region, and to the world," she added.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives at the Haneda Airport of Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 16, 2009. Hillary Clinton is visiting Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China this week on her first foreign trip as US Secretary of State.[Ren Zhenglai/Xinhua]

During her three-day visit to Japan, Clinton will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on various issues such as the strengthening of the Japan-U.S. alliance and the ongoing economic crisis as well as issues concerning the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Middle East.