WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will attend the Jan. 20 inauguration of Donald Trump for his second term as president, ensuring a senior official from a key Asian ally will attend the event, two people familiar with the matter said.
Iwaya was invited by the Trump camp and accepted, the two people said, confirming earlier Japanese media reports.
The newspaper reported that Iwaya will be the first Japanese cabinet member to attend the inauguration of a US president.
The Japanese embassy in Washington and officials with Trump’s inauguration team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Iwaya hopes to arrange a meeting with Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, during his visit to the United States, one of the people familiar with the matter said.
Satsuki Katayama, a lawmaker and member of Japan’s main ruling Liberal Democratic Party, also said she plans to attend the inauguration. She said she was invited by US Senator Bill Hagerty.
It will be Iwaya’s first visit to the United States since becoming foreign secretary in October, and Japan, a longtime US ally that enjoyed good relations with Trump during his first administration, will be looking to get off to a good start in his second.
Iwaya will visit South Korea on Monday to strengthen security cooperation between the East Asian neighbors and their common ally the US, with the aim of countering China’s growing regional power.
Deepening the trilateral security cooperation promoted by the outgoing Biden administration could be more difficult given the political turmoil in South Korea fueled by the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Iwaya will also travel to the Philippines, another US treaty ally, and then to the Pacific island nation of Palau, which relies on Washington for economic support and defense.
The Financial Times reported Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping will send a high-level envoy to Trump’s inauguration. It said Xi might send Han Zheng, the vice president who sometimes deputizes for him in ceremonial roles, while another option was Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
