Japan to enhance ties with partners amid China's coercion
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hopes to enhance ties with partner countries amid China's coercive behaviour, as she is set to receive South Korean and Italian leaders next week.
Her summit diplomacy for 2026 will go into full gear when South Korean President Lee Jae-myung visits her home prefecture of Nara in western Japan on Tuesday (January 8).
On January 16, Takaichi is scheduled to hold her first in-person summit with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Tokyo.
Takaichi will thus keep working on developing a multilayered network while the Japan-US alliance remains the cornerstone of her country's diplomacy.
Referring to the upcoming summit with South Korea, a senior official of the prime minister's office said Wednesday, "The surrounding security environment is obviously the same."
Economic security and regional situations will be the main topics, according to the official.
Lee held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his four-day visit to China from Sunday. Takaichi and Lee are expected to exchange views on China.
This will be their second summit.
They previously met last October in the South Korean city of Gyeongju on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit.
During their October talks, Lee proposed to visit Nara as part of the two countries' "shuttle" diplomacy, or mutual visits by the leaders.
Takaichi readily accepted the offer.
An envisaged itinerary includes a visit together to a temple with ties to South Korea located in the city of Nara on Wednesday, in a move intended to deepen their friendship.
At the Japan-Italy meeting, Takaichi and Meloni are expected to agree on enhancing security cooperation through the development of a next-generation fighter jet in their countries' joint project with Britain and the reinforcement of supply chains for critical minerals.
"The visit to Japan by the leader of a major European country will serve as an important message to China," a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
Takaichi and Meloni hugged each other when they met for the first time at the time of a Group of 20 summit in South Africa last November.
"They have good chemistry due to what they have in common.
Both are women and conservative politicians," a Japanese official explained.
Touching on the upcoming summits at an executive meeting of her ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday, Takaichi said, "I hope to strengthen the relationships based on mutual trust as countries that share the values of freedom and democracy."
During Friday's telephone talks between Takaichi and US President Donald Trump, the two agreed to accelerate preparation for Takaichi's visit to the United States in the spring.
She hopes to reconfirm ways to deal with China, Russia and North Korea.
From February 8 to 10, United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is slated to visit Japan as a state guest.
The two countries are expected to agree on reinforcing "a strategic partnership."
Meanwhile, Takaichi will not visit overseas before the start of an ordinary session of the Diet, Japan's parliament, scheduled for January 23.
As Takaichi is Japan's first female prime minister, many foreign figures have asked to visit Japan. "It was difficult to arrange overseas visits for her," an official close to Takaichi said, also citing the need to prepare for the Diet session.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
