Japanese Foreign Ministry

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise visit Tuesday to Kiev, stealing some of the global attention from Asian rival President Xi Jinping of China, who is in Moscow to show support for Russia against the West over the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began a surprise visit to Ukraine early Tuesday, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping arriving in neighboring Russia for a three-day visit. The dueling summits come as the longtime rivals are on diplomatic offensives.

Kishida will meet President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is traveling to Australia for talks with his counterpart Anthony Albanese, said Friday he wants to bolster military and energy cooperation between the two countries amid their shared concerns about China.

The president of Turkey and premier of Greece on Aug. 20 discussed recent developments in Afghanistan and the issue of migration in a phone call.

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Japan will join NATO's center for cyber defense in Tallinn, the BNR reported, quoting the France press and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who arrived on a visit to Estonia. It is the first stage of its tour in six Central European countries, including Bulgaria.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on March 16 that the escalating threat from North Korea's nuclear program showed a clear need for a "new approach," although he stopped short of detailing what steps the Trump administration would pursue.

A new Japanese Foreign Ministry unit will start collecting information on militant groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the countries they are based, the government said on Dec. 4, prompted into action by last month's attacks on Paris. 

Japan, the world's third largest economy by nominal GDP, expects the finalization of two agreements with Turkey which will increase its investments in the country and the $3.5 billion trade volume between the two nations, a spokesperson for the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.