Prime Minister Shinzo Abe closed out 2019 with a flurry of diplomatic activities that tested his ability as Japan's diplomat-in-chief. After he hosted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose visit on Dec. 20-21 marked the first trip to Japan by an Iranian president in 19 years, he traveled to Chengdu to attend the Japan-China-South Korea summit with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. During his short visit to Chengdu, Abe also met with Moon as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping.
It is fortuitous that Abe has closed out 2019 by engaging in summit diplomacy with these countries as they represent the different types of major foreign policy challenges that Abe will face in 2020.
Iran embodies the delicate balancing act that Abe will have to strike. Since the United States' withdrawal from the six-party Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) under the Trump administration, tensions between Washington and Teheran have continued to rise.