TOKYO (The Thursday Times) — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi leaves on Monday for the Philippines and China, a four-day trip that includes her first visit to China since taking office in October 2025, at a time of strained ties between Tokyo and Beijing.
Tokyo announced on Friday that she will travel from 16 to 19 November. She will first attend ASEAN summit meetings in Manila, where Japan says a Quad meeting with the leaders of Australia, India, and the United States is being arranged on the sidelines. She will then go to Shenzhen for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Agenda in Shenzhen
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki said Takaichi will use the APEC summit to set out Japan’s positions on trade and investment, regional economic integration, energy and economic resilience, and the digital economy. Japanese media also reported that Tokyo has asked Russia for a meeting between Takaichi and President Vladimir Putin at the gathering. Relations with Moscow are strained after a Japanese journalist was arrested in Russia last month on spying allegations.
The question drawing most attention is whether Takaichi will have any contact with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is chairing the summit. Analysts say a formal bilateral meeting is very unlikely. Beijing has refused ministerial talks with her government, although Xi recently sent condolences over the death of former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda.
The Taiwan row
Relations soured after remarks Takaichi made in November 2025 suggesting that Japan could intervene if Taiwan were attacked. Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its territory, reacted angrily, warning its citizens against travelling to Japan and imposing trade restrictions that have reportedly caused sharp falls in rare-earth supplies to Japanese firms.
In a policy address last month, Takaichi called China an “important neighbour” and pledged to build a stable relationship, while also vowing to “firmly assert our country’s positions”. Her government is meanwhile weighing a 60 trillion yen defence plan, and Taiwan recently told a Chinese coast guard ship to leave its waters.
