Japan's Top Diplomat to Visit Canada for First Time in 20 Years

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida will fly to Canada Friday to pay first official visit in twenty years.

TOKYO (Sputnik) — Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida headed for Canada on Friday to pay official visit ahead of the upcoming G7 summit, which would be the first visit by Japan's top diplomat in 20 years.

This will be the first visit of Japan's foreign minister to Canada since 1996. Kishida will meet his Canadian counterpart Stephane Dion, who took office on November 4, 2015.

Before the departure, Kishida told a news conference that he intended to "reaffirm the cooperation with Canada," to discuss regional and global issues and "to establish a relationship of trust."

The two ministers had a bilateral meeting in November when they visited the Philippines to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting.

On May 26–27, Japan will host the 42nd G7 summit. The attendees will include the leaders of the seven G7 members — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States — and representatives of the European Union. Canada is the first G7 member Kishida will visit ahead of the summit.