Exclusive - Japan Prepares State Visit Of President Duterte, Eyes Economic And Defense Talks

After his back-to-back state visits to Brunei and China, President Rodrigo Duterte will once again hit the plane and make his way to the powerful empire of Japan.

And the country isn’t taking any half measures with their preparations for welcoming him.

In the front page of one of Japan’s most popular newspapers, The Japan Times, the headline said, “Japan prepares for Duterte visit.”

This was almost a couple of months in the making, when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe formally invited Duterte to his country during a Southeast Asian summit in Laos last September.

During his three-day state visit there, President Duterte will most likely seek Japan’s aid in terms of economic help and investments, something that Japan is always ready for when it comes to assisting the Filipinos.

It is also believed that economic managers in Duterte’s Cabinet will meet with Japanese companies interested in bidding for infrastructure projects in the Philippines, like the Mindanao Railway, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said on October 19.

“We would like to further enhance our strategic partnership with the Philippines,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Friday.

Another issue on the President’s agenda is to seek defense cooperation with the Japan. Duterte is set to visit a company in Yokohama City that makes coast guard vessels.

In fact, one of its vessels, named BRP Tubbataha, was turned over recently by the Japanese government to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Lastly, like his other foreign trips, he is also set to meet with some Filipino communities in the country.