President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. will be traveling to Tokyo, Japan this week to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Japan Commemorative Summit from December 16 to 18.

In a Palace briefing, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu said the President will depart on Friday, December 15 together with First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

This will be his second visit to Japan and his 19th overseas trip since assuming the presidency in June 2022.

According to Espiritu, there might be a bilateral meeting between Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida regarding the possibility of an access agreement between the two country's military forces for joint drills and training.

Marcos will also have an audience with Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako and attend business meetings during the trip.

“This is very important because Japan is one of the first dialogue partners of ASEAN, and it’s one of the most dynamic. And its participation in ASEAN has covered not only political security matters such as defense and transnational crime and mutual legal assistance but also mutual economic activities which all help in community building in ASEAN and also cultural and people-to-people activities,” Espiritu said.

“It’s a whole gamut of relations, and they were able to sustain and develop it through the years such that this year, they were declared comprehensive strategic partner of ASEAN,” he added.