Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will make a previously planned visit to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman, Reuters reported.
Earlier, Asahi TV reported that the trip will be canceled after the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and Iran’s retaliatory missile strike against US forces in Iraq.
However, Abe will visit the region, as expected, from January 11 to 15, Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Friday.
“Given the rising regional tensions, this trip is taking place to exchange opinions with these three nations as one part of Japanese diplomacy aimed at diffusing the overall situation,” Suga said.
At the same time, Minister of Defense Taro Kono signed a decree sending a warship and two P-3C patrol aircraft to the Middle East to protect ships delivering goods to Japan.
Patrol planes will leave Japan on Saturday and are set to operate from January 20. The destroyer will fly from Japan to the region on February 2.
“Ninety percent of our oil travels through those waters and so it’s a lifeline for the Japanese economy,” Kono said at a media briefing.
