Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, After General Election, Makes Official International Debut by Attending Climate Conference

▲Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Fumio Kishida, the Japanese Prime Minister who led the first House of Representatives election (general election) to victory after taking office, will make his international debut at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 1st, Prime Minister Kishida will attend the COP26 summit held in Glasgow, UK, on the 2nd (local time) as his first overseas visit since taking office.

Due to the recent general election, Kishida participated online in the G20 summit held in Rome, Italy, on the 30th and 31st of last month.

His attendance at the COP26 summit in Glasgow following the G20 summit was initially a flexible decision to be finalized after seeing the election results.

However, with the Liberal Democratic Party securing an 'absolute stable majority' of seats (261 seats), far exceeding the majority, he can now meet with foreign leaders with a relieved mind.

At the COP26 summit, Kishida plans to focus on introducing the Japanese government's measures to achieve 'carbon neutrality' by effectively reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.

He is also coordinating a meeting schedule with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and is pushing for a meeting with US President Joe Biden.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Kishida's plan is to leverage his experience as Foreign Minister to demonstrate his presence diplomatically at this COP26 meeting.

Since President Moon Jae-in will also attend this conference, there is a possibility of the first face-to-face contact between the Japanese and South Korean leaders since the Kishida Cabinet was formed.

The newspaper noted that during the tenure of former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who focused on strengthening US-Japan relations, the COVID-19 situation prevented face-to-face meetings with neighboring leaders from South Korea, China, and Russia, but Kishida is carefully considering whether and when to hold talks with neighboring leaders.

However, since Kishida has expressed his intention to visit the US within the year, it is expected that he will focus on building relations with President Biden for the time being, and even if meetings with neighboring leaders are arranged, they are likely to take place after next year.

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