WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will attend Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president on Jan. 20, ensuring a high-ranking official from a key Asian ally will attend the event, two people familiar with the matter said. He said.
The two people said that Iwaya received an invitation from the Trump camp to attend the launch of his second term and he accepted the invitation, confirming Japanese media reports.
The newspaper said that he would be the first member of the Japanese government to attend the swearing-in of an American president.
The Japanese Embassy in Washington and officials from Trump's inauguration team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
One of the people familiar with the matter said that Iwaya hopes to arrange a meeting with Senator Marco Rubio, Trump's pick for Secretary of State, during his visit to the United States.
The Japanese minister will convey Tokyo's hope for an early meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, this person said. Sources told Reuters at the time that Ishiba unsuccessfully sought a meeting in November, shortly after Trump defeated Joe Biden in his presidential comeback.
Satsuki Katayama, a lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Ichiba, said she plans to attend the inauguration at the invitation of Senator Bill Hagerty, who was Trump's ambassador to Tokyo in his first term.
This will be Iwaya's first visit to the United States since he became foreign minister in October. Japan, a long-time US ally that enjoyed good relations with Trump during his first administration, will be keen to get off to a good start in his second term.
Iwaya is scheduled to visit South Korea on Monday to strengthen security cooperation between the two East Asian neighbors and their common ally the United States, with the aim of countering China's growing regional power.
Deepening the trilateral security cooperation promoted by the outgoing Biden administration may be more difficult given the political turmoil in South Korea caused by the impeachment of President Yeon Suk-yul.
Iwaya will also travel to the Philippines, another US ally, and then to the Pacific island of Palau, which depends on Washington for economic and defense support.
The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping will send a high-level envoy to attend Trump's inauguration. She said Xi could send Han Zheng, the vice president who sometimes replaces him in ceremonial roles, while another option is Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
