Ishiba Using Expo as Opportunity to Meet World Leaders, Improve Diplomacy

By Toru Inoue and Kenta Kamimura / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

6:00 JST, May 31, 2025

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is stepping up his “Expo diplomacy” with world leaders visiting Japan for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo.

The United States’ tariff policy has escalated conflict between Washington and Beijing, tasking Japan with further cooperation with the Global South. Ishiba is taking advantage of Japan being the host of the Expo – which is bringing more than 100 foreign dignitaries to the country – with an aim of enhancing the nation’s presence and building personal trust.

Ties with developing countries

“We want to place greater emphasis on relations with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific based on the rule of law,” Ishiba told Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith on Thursday.

The United States has imposed 48% tariffs on Laos. In the talks, Ishiba highlighted Japan’s contribution to Laos’ economic growth.

On the same day, Ishiba also met with the leaders of Tanzania and Kuwait at the Prime Minister’s Office.

During his meeting with Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Ishiba touched on an episode when he was Defense Agency director general, in which Kuwait provided the Self-Defense Forces with a base of operations in Iraq. Ishiba then said Japan would like to strengthen the bilateral relationship.

As of Thursday, Ishiba had met with 17 foreign dignitaries since the Expo opened in April. Up until the closing day in October, the prime minister will meet world leaders who visit Japan for their National Day at the Expo. National Days are a showcase of each country’s culture and are held almost daily.

“The Expo is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to deepen strategic ties with small and medium-sized countries that we have limited chances to visit diplomatically,” a senior Foreign Ministry official said.

Gain experience

The Expo is a valuable opportunity for the prime minister to gain diplomatic experience too, after being criticized for inexperienced conduct such as greeting others with a two-handed handshake when he first took office.

According to those close to Ishiba, he checks out the Foreign Affairs magazine from the National Diet Library and has been studying late into the night to familiarize himself with the situations in various countries. Ishiba reportedly told those around him: “The Expo is a good opportunity. We can convey Japan’s importance to countries sandwiched between the United States and China.”

He seems to grow more confident with each day of meetings.

During a meeting Wednesday with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic, who studied in Japan, the two leaders spoke in Japanese without an interpreter, and Ishiba created a relaxed mood by calling the meeting “historic.”

Ishiba is expecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit on July 19, which coincides with the Expo’s U.S. National Day. However, there is no clear prospect of this happening.

Ishiba’s diplomatic skills will be put to the test in the current Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations in which leaders may be required to come up with a breakthrough at some point in June.