Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga departed Sunday afternoon for Vietnam for his first official overseas trip since taking office, which also includes a stop in Indonesia.
Suga is scheduled to meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday and then with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday. Suga, accompanied by his wife, Mariko, will return to Japan on Wednesday.
At the respective meetings with his Asian counterparts, Suga will make an appeal for cooperation to realize his Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) initiative, and exchange opinions on the South China Sea problem, North Korea and other issues.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which include both countries, is a key region for the FOIP initiative, which Suga inherited from his predecessor Shinzo Abe.
Vietnam holds the chair of ASEAN this year. On Monday, Suga will deliver a policy speech there about relations with ASEAN.
-- Strict anti-virus measures
The trip also marks the first overseas visit by a Japanese prime minister since the global spread of the novel coronavirus.
To prevent infection, the government took unprecedented preparations for the trip. For example, the number of people in the delegation has been reduced to a minimum, and Suga himself received a PCR test at the time of departure from Japan.
The last overseas visit by a prime minister was about 10 months ago, when Abe went to the Middle East in January.
For this trip, Suga will limit physical contact with people in the host countries as much as possible by omitting inspection tours and other means, and will wear a mask constantly while traveling.
If upon returning to Japan, Suga tests negative for the coronavirus, he will be exempted from the requirement to self-isolate for 14 days, allowing him to continue his official duties without hindrance.
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