Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide left Tokyo’s Haneda airport on October 18 for Hanoi, beginning his first overseas visit to Vietnam and then Indonesia. 

The Japanese PM and his wife are welcomed at Noi Bai International Airport
by Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung.

“I would like to show a resolve to contribute to peace and prosperity in the region toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Suga told reporters before leaving Haneda airport.

The Japanese PM is scheduled to hold talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc and pay courtesy visits to other senior Vietnamese officials in Hanoi on October 19.

Both PMs are expected to agree to facilitate the cross-border flow of medical equipment and other goods as Japan looks to diversify its supply chain in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kyodo quoted Japanese Foreign Ministry officials as saying.

He is also scheduled to meet and deliver a speech with students at the Vietnam-Japan University in Hanoi on October 19. His wife, Suga Mariko, is planned to visit Van Mieu, Vietnam’s first university, and the Vietnam Women’s Museum the same day.

This is Suga’s first overseas trip after he took office a month ago to replace his predecessor Abe Shinzo who stepped down due to health reasons. He vowed to follow Abe’s foreign policy.

Vietnam and Japan established diplomatic ties in 1973, and both countries lifted their ties to the extensive strategic partnership in 2014.