Shigeru Ishiba’s First Official Trip to Malaysia as Japan’s Prime Minister

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrived in Malaysia today for a two-day official visit since he took office in October 2024. The special plane arranged for Ishiba, his wife Yoshiko and the Japanese delegation to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 5 p.m.

Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry and Shikata Noriyuki, Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia were among those who welcomed Ishiba at the Bunga Raya Complex.

Upon arriving, Ishiba marched past a guard of honour formed by 28 officers and personnel from the First Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment (Ceremonial) led by Capt Muhammad Iskandar Dzulkarnaen Doa Hasan. Ishiba will receive an official welcome at the Perdana Putra Complex in Putrajaya followed by a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tomorrow.

During the meeting, Anwar and Ishiba are expected to discuss the state of bilateral relations between Malaysia and Japan particularly in sectors such as trade and investment, human resource development and energy cooperation. Before having a joint press conference, they are also anticipated to discuss a number of regional and global problems of shared concern such as the Middle East situation.