Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Heads To Southeast Asia For Key Summits
Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is set for a busy week of diplomacy in Southeast Asia. He's scheduled to attend a series of key regional summits and meetings on the sidelines.
Kishida left Japan early on Saturday. He will first attend a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that kicked off on Friday in the Cambodian capital.
He will next travel to the Indonesian island of Bali for a summit of the Group of 20 nations. And on Thursday, he will arrive in Bangkok for a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Kishida's eight-day tour includes trilateral talks with US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.
He will also hold a one-on-one meeting with Biden. And arrangements are being made for bilateral talks with Yoon and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Kishida departed 10 hours later than initially planned due to the resignation of his justice minister over controversial comments about the death penalty.
The prime minster told reporters that he intends to convey Japan's position on a number of issues, including North Korea, food and energy security, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.