How Japan plans to stop China from ‘stealing the limelight’ at Trump’s inauguration

By dispatching its foreign minister to the event, Tokyo seems intent on asserting its influence – and avoiding being upstaged by Beijing

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Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:00am, 18 Jan 2025Updated: 8:26am, 18 Jan 2025

In a gesture heavy with symbolism, strategy and no small measure of urgency, Japan is dispatching its foreign minister to attend US president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

It is a shrewd move, analysts say, aimed at safeguarding the bedrock of Tokyo’s foreign policy: its alliance with Washington. But there is another unspoken motive driving Tokyo’s bold diplomacy – ensuring China does not steal the show.

“We aim to build a relationship of trust with the Trump administration,” Takeshi Iwaya said last Sunday, confirming his plans to attend the ceremony. His visit, the first to the United States since taking office in October, could set the stage for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s own summit with Trump as early as February, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

The decision makers in Tokyo’s corridors of power feel China has “received all the attention from the US” in recent years, according to Stephen Nagy, a professor of politics and international studies at the International Christian University in Tokyo. “And they do not want this to happen again … They feel it’s better to be at the Trump table.”

By sending its top diplomat, the Japanese government is trying to ensure that China’s representative at the event, Vice-President Han Zheng, “does not steal all the limelight”, according to Nagy.

US president-elect Donald Trump speaks at a press conference in Florida on January 7. Photo: TNS

The decision to send Iwaya to Washington – breaking tradition that typically relegates such events to ambassadors – reflects Tokyo’s deep anxieties about the unpredictability of the incoming Trump administration.