Japan's foreign minister will attend Trump's inauguration

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will attend the swearing-in ceremony of US President-elect Donald Trump. This was reported by Reuters on January 10.

It is specified that Iwaya will be the first member of the Japanese cabinet to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the US president.

It is expected that meetings of foreign ministers may be held on the margins of the inauguration. Tokyo is also reportedly finalizing a meeting between Iwaya and Senator Marco Rubio, Trump's nominee for Secretary of State.

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Earlier, on December 6, 2024, it became known that Japan, the United States and the Philippines held joint maritime exercises in the South China Sea. It is specified that from the U.S. Navy in the exercises involved P-8A Poseidon from patrol squadron 47, from the Philippine Navy - BRP Andres Bonifacio and C-90, from Japan - destroyer JS Samidare (DD 106) class Murasame.

Prior to that, on November 11, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointed out that NATO was extending its influence to the Asia-Pacific region under the guise of ensuring the security of its members. In the same month, the minister drew attention to the fact that the U.S. continues to introduce NATO infrastructure into the waters of the Pacific Ocean. In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized back in September that the weapons the US deploys in Asia pose a threat to China and the Russian Federation.

In April, it became known that the US had deployed medium-range missiles in the Philippines. In September, U.S. Secretary of the Army Christine Warmuth said that the United States was interested in deploying land-based medium- and short-range missiles in Japan. At the time, Ryabkov warned that Russia would give a comprehensive military-technical response if such plans of Washington are realized.

The US Congress on January 6 approved Trump's victory in the 60th presidential election held on November 5, 2024. The decision was announced by incumbent US Vice President Kamala Harris, who competed with Trump as a candidate.