Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sits during a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Lima, Peru, on Friday. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Saturday he will not hold an in-person meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on his way back to Japan from South America, despite his earlier desire to do so. Speaking to reporters in Lima, Peru, Ishiba said Trump's team explained that the president-elect, who has received numerous requests for meetings from world leaders, cannot hold talks with them before taking office due to legal constraints. Ishiba said, "I hope to hold talks with him at the most convenient, earliest possible time for both," expressing his eagerness to arrange a meeting following Trump's inauguration in January. Ishiba, who succeeded Fumio Kishida as prime minister on Oct. 1, is eager to establish a personal relationship with Trump, who had a rapport with then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his first term as president starting in 2017.

Source: Washington Post November 17, 2024 03:18 UTC