Marcos To Visit Japan On May 26 To 29

First Lady Liza Marcos will accompany the President during this visit upon the invitation of the Japanese government, as the Philippines and Japan commemorate the 70th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations this year.

President Marcos will undertake a state visit to Japan from May 26 to 29, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) announced on Friday, April 24.

First Lady Liza Marcos will accompany the President during this visit upon the invitation of the Japanese government, as the Philippines and Japan commemorate the 70th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations this year.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will receive the President and the First Lady at the Imperial Palace for a welcome ceremony, state call and state banquet.

Marcos is also set to meet Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae to discuss the future trajectory of the Philippines-Japan strengthened strategic partnership, PCO said.

The leaders are also expected to continue their recent discussions on current international developments, particularly on energy and food security and maritime security, it added.

The President is also scheduled to meet with Japanese business leaders and members of the Filipino community as part of his official engagements.

In a recent report, Nikkei Asia said Marcos and Takaichi are expected to discuss “cooperation toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific” and “to coordinate responses to China’s maritime expansion.”

This will be Marcos’ fourth trip to Japan as President.

He embarked on a five-day official visit to Japan in February 2023 and in December of the same year for the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit. His third visit to Japan was in June last year to attend the World Expo 2025 in Osaka.

The last state visit to Japan by a Philippine president was undertaken by the late former president Benigno Simeon Aquino III in June 2015. The last state visit of Japan’s emperor to the Philippines, Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko, was in January 2016, the PCO said.

Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Japan were normalized on July 23, 1956 after the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the reparations agreement between the two countries entered into force.

In 2024, the two countries signed a landmark Reciprocal Access Agreement that would allow Filipino troops to enter Japan for joint combat training.