"UK Prime Minister's Visit to Japan via China Being Coordinated"... Summit with Japanese Prime Minister Planned

Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Photo by AP Yonhap News

Kyodo News reported that the governments of both China and Japan are coordinating a schedule for Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, to visit Japan via China.

According to reports on January 21, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to hold a summit meeting with Prime Minister Starmer, during which she will explain Japan's position on the recent tensions between China and Japan that arose following her remarks suggesting possible intervention in the event of a Taiwan contingency, and seek his understanding.

In addition, the two leaders will discuss ways to strengthen supply chains and cooperate to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

This will be the first visit by a British Prime Minister to Japan since the Group of Seven (G7) summit was held in Hiroshima in May 2023.

Prime Minister Starmer's visit coincides with the general election period following the dissolution of the House of Representatives, which has been announced for January 23. However, Kyodo News reported that Prime Minister Takaichi believes that important diplomatic events should not be postponed in order to respond to the fluid international situation.

Prime Minister Starmer is also scheduled to visit China, making him the first British Prime Minister to do so since Theresa May in 2018.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.