Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will attend Donald Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration for his second term as president, ensuring that a high-ranking official from a key Asian ally is on hand for the event, two people familiar with the matter said.
Iwaya was invited by Trump's camp and has accepted, the two people said, confirming earlier Japanese media reports.
The Nikkei newspaper said that Iwaya would be the first Japanese Cabinet member to attend the swearing-in of a U.S. president. Japan's embassy in Washington and officials with Trump's inauguration team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The top Japanese diplomat will convey Tokyo's hope for an early meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, a source said. Ishiba unsuccessfully sought a meeting in November, shortly after Trump beat Joe Biden in a presidential comeback.
Iwaya is hoping 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 the main governing Liberal Democratic Party, has also said she plans to attend the inauguration. She said she was invited by U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty.
It will be Iwaya's first visit to the United States since he became foreign minister in October, and Japan, a longtime U.S. ally that enjoyed good relations with Trump during his first administration, will be keen to get off to a good start in his second.
Iwaya will visit South Korea on Monday to shore up security cooperation between the East Asian neighbors and their mutual U.S. ally meant to counter North Korea and China's growing regional power.
Deepening trilateral security cooperation promoted by the outgoing Biden administration could be more difficult given the political turmoil in South Korea prompted by the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Iwaya will also travel to the Philippines, another U.S. treaty ally, and then to the Pacific island nation of Palau, which relies on Washington for economic support and defense.
The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would send a high-level envoy to Trump's inauguration. It said Xi could send Han Zheng, a vice president who sometimes stands in for him in ceremonial roles, while another option was Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
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