Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will forgo overseas diplomatic trips at the start of the new year to focus on domestic policies like tackling rising prices. It has been customary for prime ministers to conduct bilateral visits before the ordinary Diet session in January, but she is instead encouraging ministers to handle such diplomacy.
In a speech in Tokyo on Thursday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced she will skip overseas diplomatic trips at the beginning of the new year to prioritize domestic policies. She touched on her commitment to summit diplomacy, stating, “I will push Japan back to great heights in the world,” but most of the address focused on economic measures, including the fiscal 2026 budget and tax reforms.
Since taking office in October, Takaichi has attended international conferences in Malaysia, South Korea, and South Africa but has not made any bilateral visits. An ordinary Diet session convenes on January 23, yet no overseas trips are scheduled for January. Since 2013, prime ministers have skipped such early-year trips only four times: in 2016 due to an early Diet session on January 4, in 2021 and 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2024 following the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi plans visits to Israel and Palestine in mid-January, along with India. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is arranging a trip to the United States to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Takaichi will not attend the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, from January 19 to 23, where U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders are expected; Koizumi will participate for the first time as defense minister.
Takaichi anticipates meetings with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, both visiting Japan separately before the Diet session. She also expressed a desire to visit the United States around March to meet Trump.
