Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya to attend Trump inauguration

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya plans to attend Donald Trump's inauguration as US president on January 20, a government source said on Friday, as the Asian country races to establish ties with the new administration of its most important ally.

The trip is apparently aimed at laying the groundwork for negotiations between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump after the latter is sworn in for the second time as US leader. The Japanese government received an invitation to attend the inauguration ceremony, the source said.

Japan is generally represented at US presidential inaugurations by its ambassador in Washington, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, December 25, 2024. (Kyodo)

During his visit to the United States, Iwaya plans to explore the possibility of speaking with Senator Marco Rubio, who has been nominated as US Secretary of State and is awaiting Senate confirmation.

Although it is not usual for foreign leaders to attend the inauguration ceremony of the American president, Trump extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping, revealed the new White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, on last month.

Instead of Xi, China will send a high-level envoy to the inauguration, the Financial Times reported Thursday, calling the move an unprecedented move intended to reduce friction between the countries at the start of the new U.S. administration.

Among the Group of Seven industrialized countries, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday that she had been invited and planned to attend the event if her schedule allows.

Ishiba, meanwhile, expressed his intention to meet with Trump “at the most appropriate time and in an appropriate form,” without providing a specific timetable. Government sources said he was considering a summit meeting with the Republican president in February or later.

Japanese Rep. Satsuki Katayama told reporters Friday that she planned to attend the inauguration after being offered the opportunity late last year by Sen. William Hagerty, who was serving as U.S. ambassador -United in Japan during Trump's first term.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party member of the House of Advisors said she also attended Trump's first inauguration in 2017. Katayama also said she consulted with Ishiba and others about his upcoming travel to the United States.

Ishiba explored the possibility of an in-person meeting with Trump in November, as he returned to Japan from a trip to South America. But this was not achieved because, according to the Japanese government, the Trump camp cited legal constraints preventing the next US president from meeting foreign leaders before his inauguration.

Since then, however, Trump has held talks with other world leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Ishiba was also looking to travel to the United States in mid-January. But the idea was abandoned, with some Japanese government officials insisting that a “long discussion” at a formal summit after Trump takes office would be more beneficial.

In December, Trump met with Akie Abe, the widow of assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Shinzo Abe, notably through his “golf diplomacy,” managed to establish a personal relationship with Trump, who was first elected in 2016 without any public office experience and has proven unpredictable and unconventional in his relationships with world leaders.

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