Ishiba Begins Tour of Vietnam, Philippines

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:42 JST, April 27, 2025

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Sunday began a four-day tour of Vietnam and the Philippines over the Golden Week holidays. Ishiba departed Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on a government jet and arrived in Hanoi on the same day.

Ishiba is expected to call on Vietnam and the Philippines to further strengthen their security cooperation with Japan, with China’s increasing maritime expansion in mind. He is also expected to reaffirm Japan’s economic ties with both countries, which face U.S. President Donald Trump administration’s high tariff policy.

On Sunday, Ishiba was to have talks in Vietnam with the Communist Party’s General Secretary To Lam, the nation’s top leader. On Monday, Ishiba will have a summit meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The Japanese prime minister plans to propose establishing a vice-ministerial level dialogue of the foreign and defense authorities and cooperation on training human resources for the semiconductor industry.

In talks slated for Tuesday in the Philippines with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the two countries plan to agree on starting negotiations on an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) and on concluding a General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) at an early stage.

Many Japanese companies have established operations in both countries, which are experiencing continuing economic growth. Ishiba also plans to meet with representatives of local businesses during his visit to discuss the impact of the U.S. tariffs and other issues.