U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has postponed her planned trip to Asia after testing positive for the coronavirus, her spokesman said Thursday.

Pelosi was expected to visit Tokyo later this week to meet Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as part of efforts by the United States and Japan to affirm close cooperation amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Taiwan media said Pelosi was also planning to visit the self-ruled island from Sunday, in what would have been the first trip to Taiwan by a House speaker in 25 years.

"It is regrettable that (her visit) was canceled, but we wish a swift recovery of the lower house speaker," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno in Tokyo, adding it would have been an "important occasion to further strengthen Japan-U.S. ties and affirm bilateral cooperation toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific region."