Politics & Government

News in Pictures / Meets World Leaders on His Trip to South America, Hoping to Demonstrate His Diplomatic Chops

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:45 JST, November 19, 2024

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba departed for his tour of Peru and Brazil on Thursday after being reelected as prime minister at a special Diet session on Nov. 11. The trip is viewed as an opportunity for Ishiba to demonstrate his diplomatic skills after first taking office in October.

Yomiuri Shimbun photos
**Left:** A government aircraft leaves Haneda Airport in Tokyo with Ishiba on board on Thursday. **Right:** Ishiba, second from right, arrives in Peru on Friday.

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Ishiba waves upon arrival at a dinner venue for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Lima on Friday.

Ishiba arrived in Lima in the early hours of Friday to attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting. On its sidelines, he held bilateral meetings with outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, among other leaders.

The leaders of Japan, the United States and South Korea also held a trilateral meeting and released a joint statement in which they said they had agreed to set up a trilateral secretariat to advance cooperation.

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Ishiba, right, U.S. President Joe Biden, center, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, second from left, attend a trilateral meeting in Lima on Friday.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Ishiba, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, hold a meeting in Lima on Friday.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Ishiba, right, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, hold a meeting in Lima on Saturday.

Ishiba was scheduled to be in Brazil on Monday and Tuesday to attend a Group of 20 summit before returning to Japan.

He initially tried to organize a meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump after his visit to Peru and Brazil, but those plans fell through. The Japanese government was told that, in principle, Trump will not meet with foreign leaders until he takes office in January.