HANOI -- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga made a smooth diplomatic debut Monday in Vietnam, holding a summit meeting and delivering a policy speech on his first overseas trip since taking office.
In his speech, Suga demonstrated his personal style, emphasizing his position as a self-made politician. This article will examine the goals of Suga's diplomacy and the challenges he faces.
--A sense of relief
"I think this was a valuable first step toward achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific," Suga said to reporters on Monday evening about his first face-to-face diplomacy as prime minister. His words carried a sense of relief.
Suga was involved in decision-making on foreign policy in former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration, but he has had little personal experience of diplomatic negotiations with top-level foreign officials. There is a significant gap in this respect with his predecessor Abe, who repeatedly held intense meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump and others.
According to sources around Suga, he asked senior Foreign Ministry officials for a detailed briefing about Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc's background. Suga is accompanied by Isao Iijima, a special advisor to the Cabinet who has a wealth of contacts in Vietnam and has met with Phuc on numerous occasions. Suga is said to have repeatedly received advice from Iijima even after arriving in Hanoi.
Vietnam, which Suga chose as his first destination, is this year's chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Indonesia, which he visited on Tuesday, is an economic powerhouse with the largest population in the region. They are both known as traditionally pro-Japan countries, and there is great affinity between them and this nation.
ASEAN adopted the concept of a free and open Indo-Pacific advocated by Japan and announced its own Indo-Pacific outlook in June 2019.
Vietnam has taken the strongest anti-China stance among ASEAN members regarding the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. It also wants to strengthen security ties with Japan, which has a strong relationship with the United States. Given these circumstances, sources around Suga said the low chance of failure was one of the reasons Vietnam was chosen as his first destination.
--Play up closeness
When Suga said "I love Vietnam" in halting Vietnamese during a foreign policy speech at Vietnam-Japan University in Hanoi, students in the audience applauded him.
He then detailed his political career, which started in snowy Akita Prefecture where he was born as a farmer's son and culminated in his rise to become prime minister.
"I feel a strong affinity with your country and ASEAN," Suda said. He repeatedly referred to ASEAN as a friend and a partner, projecting closeness.
Suga's reference to his own experience of working his way up may have been made with Phuc in mind, as he is also from a regional area.
At the meeting with Phuc, Suga stressed that "the Japan-Vietnam relationship is the best it has ever been" and called for cooperation. He said ASEAN's Indo-Pacific vision "has essential points in common [with the Japanese vision]," and that "Japan will fully support it."
Suga is also planning to focus on affinity and call for similar cooperation while in Indonesia.
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