The British government has canceled Prime Minister Boris Johnson's planned visit to Japan in February due to growing tensions over Ukraine and his alleged participation in parties that broke COVID-19 lockdown rules, Japanese government sources said Monday.
Tokyo and London had been arranging for his visit in mid-February for talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, but the sources said the British government had canceled the plan.
"It is not true that a visit by British Prime Minister Johnson is being arranged," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a regular news conference in Tokyo.
Matsuno added "Japan places great weight on its relations with Britain, which is a global strategic partner of our country, and hopes to strengthen ties through various efforts."
It would have been Johnson's first visit to Japan since he took office in 2019.