WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president on January 20, ensuring a high-ranking official from a key Asian ally will be on hand for the event. , two people familiar with the matter. said.

Iwaya was invited by Trump’s camp to launch his second term and accepted, the two people said, confirming Japanese media reports.

He will be the first Japanese cabinet member to attend the inauguration of a US president, the newspaper said.

The Japanese embassy in Washington and officials with Trump’s inauguration team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Iwaya hopes to arrange a meeting with Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for secretary of state, during his visit to the United States, one of the people familiar with the matter.

The Japanese minister will express hopes in Tokyo for an early meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, this person said. Ishiba unsuccessfully sought a meeting in November, shortly after Trump defeated Joe Biden in a presidential runoff, sources told Reuters at the time.

Satsuki Katayama, a lawmaker from Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party, said she plans to attend the inauguration at the invitation of Senator Bill Hagerty, who was Trump’s ambassador to Tokyo during his first term.

This is Iwaya’s first visit to the United States since he became foreign minister last October. Japan, a longtime US ally that enjoyed good relations with Trump during his first administration, is eager to get off to a good start in his second.

Iwaya will visit South Korea on Monday to strengthen security cooperation between the East Asian neighbors and their US ally, aiming to counter China’s growing regional power.

Deepening trilateral security cooperation championed by the outgoing Biden administration may be more difficult because of the political turmoil in South Korea prompted by the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Iwaya will also travel to the Philippines, another US ally, and then to the Pacific island of Palau, which relies on Washington for economic and defense support.

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Chinese President Xi Jinping will send a high-level envoy to Trump’s inauguration. It said Xi could send Han Zheng, a vice president who sometimes stands in for him in ceremonial roles, while another option is Foreign Minister Wang Yi.