First Boeing Dreamliner arrives in fortress Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - All Nippon Airways' first Boeing 787 Dreamliner touched down in Tokyo early on Wednesday with hundreds of aviation fans welcoming the carbon-composite plane that its American maker is fielding, albeit three years late, to keep rival Airbus out of its best market.

The U.S. aircraft giant has had to cede ground to its European foe nearly everywhere else, including at home. Airbus has outpaced it globally in deliveries for the past nine years and in orders since 2008. Airbus has even had some success selling its A380 super jumbo to new carriers in Japan.