TOKYO (Kyodo) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to travel to Indonesia next week for a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and a summit of major economies of the Group of Twenty in India, the Japanese government said on Friday.
Kishida is expected to hold bilateral talks with leaders of other countries, including Indonesia and India, during the summit during his week-long visit starting Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference.
Observers said the focus was on whether Kishida would meet with senior Chinese officials, as tensions between the two Asian nations grew after Japan began dumping radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.
In Jakarta, Kishida is likely to reiterate Japan’s hope for the success of the upcoming special summit to mark the 50th anniversary of Japan-ASEAN friendship, Matsuno said, adding that the government had approved the three-day meeting in Tokyo from Dec. 16. plan.
At the G20 summit in New Delhi, Kishida is likely to discuss various global issues with other participants, such as food security amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the promotion of digitalization, the senior government spokesman added.
