Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Considering Meeting with U.S. President-elect; Seeks to Stabilize, Deepen Japan-U.S. Alliance

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:23 JST, October 13, 2024

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is considering visiting the United States to meet the president-elect before January’s inauguration, he said during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun on Saturday.

Ishiba is scheduled to visit Latin America in mid-November to attend a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Peru as well as a Group of 20 summit in Brazil. Asked whether he plans to visit the United States before or after the meetings, Ishiba said, “I will not deny the possibility.”

“As the prime minister of Japan, an ally of the United States, I need to have a rapport with the U.S. president-elect before January’s inauguration,” Ishiba said.

The prime minister stressed he would seek to meet the candidate who wins November’s presidential election at an early date in order to stabilize and deepen the Japan-U.S. alliance. If his plan is realized, it will be his first visit to the United States after taking office.

Soon after the U.S. presidential election in November 2016, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited President-elect Donald Trump in New York. Abe became the first head of a foreign state to meet with Trump. The meeting helped Abe build a close relationship with Trump afterward.

Regarding bilateral relations, Ishiba has expressed his willingness to revise the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, which defines the legal status of U.S. military personnel deployed in Japan. During the interview, however, Ishiba did not mention a date for the revision that he is aiming for.

“I think I know more than anyone else how difficult it is to revise the agreement,” Ishiba said. “I would not dare give an expected date.”