WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will attend Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration for his second term as U.S. president, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday, citing a Japanese foreign ministry source.
In an online report from Tokyo, the paper quoted its source as saying that Iwaya would be the first Japanese cabinet member to attend the swearing-in of a U.S. president and that he would attend at the invitation of Trump’s camp.
Japan’s embassy in Washington and officials with Trump’s inauguration team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Nikkei said that with the Trump’s team expected to invite officials from other allies and like-minded nations, meetings between foreign ministers could be held on the sidelines of the inauguration. It said Tokyo was finalizing a meeting between Iwaya and Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state.
It will be Iwaya’s first visit to the United States since he became foreign minister in October, and Japan, a long time U.S. ally that enjoyed good relations with Trump during his first administration, will be keen to get off to a good start in his second.
Iwaya will visit South Korea on Monday to shore up security cooperation between the East Asian neighbors and their mutual U.S. ally meant to counter China’s growing regional power.
Deepening trilateral security cooperation promoted by the outgoing Biden administration could be more difficult given the political turmoil in South Korea prompted by the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Iwaya will also travel to the Philippines, another U.S. treaty ally, and then to the Pacific island nation of Palau, which relies on Washington for economic support and defense.
The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping would send a high-level envoy to Trump’s inauguration. It said Xi could send Han Zheng, a vice president who sometimes stands in for him in ceremonial roles, while another option was Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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