Kishida considers skipping speech at U.N. General Assembly

Due to a schedule clash with his ruling party’s leadership election, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is thinking about shortening his trip to New York next month and skipping his speech to the U.N. General Assembly, people close to him revealed on Wednesday.

Kishida announced earlier this month that he will not run in the Liberal Democratic Party’s scheduled presidential election for September 27, which will mean the end of his three-year term as premier. His popularity has fallen as a result of a scandal involving political funds in the party.

Japan has been scheduled to give a speech in New York on September 26 in the afternoon. But according to the sources, the administration has not finished the plans since Kishida needs to be back to Tokyo in time for the LDP election.

Given that Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa has indicated her desire to run for the LDP, it is also unclear if she would travel to New York. According to the sources, Japan’s ambassador to the UN may speak at the assembly in place of the speaker.

While in New York, Kishida is expected to have a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, who has chosen to withdraw from the nation’s presidential election in November, as well as attend a summit of the four-way Quad alliance, which consists of the US, Australia, and India.

Beginning on September 24, the yearly high-level session of the United Nations General Assembly is scheduled to span seven days. Kishida’s final foreign trip is scheduled to begin on September 22 in the United States.

Kishida is also expected to join the U.N. Summit of the Future to discuss how best to tackle global challenges and the “FMCT Friends talks,” aimed to negotiate a proposed fissile material cut-off treaty to ban further production of the substance for nuclear arms.