MANILA, Philippines — In visiting Japan for the third time as Philippine President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is surrounded by the familiar. Marcos had already met Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae four times in the seven months she’s been in office.
Marcos and his wife, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos had also met, albeit less formally, with Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako before — in early 2023, during an official visit to Japan.
His priorities will also be much the same — to bring bilateral ties closer with the goal of improving the Philippines’ own security, economic, and geopolitical agendas.
But what makes Marcos’ 2026 visit to Japan different, aside from the fact that it’s a rare state visit, would be the world that backdrops it: a global oil supply and price crisis that’s brought Philippine economic numbers down and has meant financial struggle for many Filipinos, and an ally whose actions triggered all this chaos in the first place.
“This state visit to Japan is essential amid an increasingly challenging and evolving global environment,” said Marcos on Tuesday, May 26, ahead of departing for the four-day trip.
