Duterte to keep behavior in check during meetings with Japan’s royal family, Trump
President Duterte has expressed his intention to keep his behavior in check when he meets Japan’s royal family as well as during his meeting with US President Donald Trump next month.
The President is expected to meet Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko during the second day of his visit in Japan.
Duterte, in his pre-departure speech in Davao City late Sunday night, acknowledged that he would have to watch his words during his first meeting with Japan's current Emperor.
But Duterte said he will be sure to express how the Philippines is grateful to the Land of the Rising Sun.
“I suppose that I have to limit my mouth there, except maybe to bring the warm greetings of the Filipino nation, a grateful nation to Japan, as a matter of fact, ”Duterte said.
The President said he will personally convey gratitude to the Japanese royal family “for Japan’s friendship with the Philippines, which has grown stronger under His Majesty’s reign.”
“Our ties and friendship with Japan is most valued, and as we recognize our meaningful shared history, we will continue to be forward-looking in our relations,” he added.
The President also said that his visit to Emperor Akihito is “kind of a homage” before the Emperor abdicates, or renounces his throne.
“One of the reasons was really that before he steps down, he wanted to see the leaders of… the last time, I was not able to do it because his uncle died. And that is why I have to go back,” he added.
Duterte is currently in Japan on a two-day official visit. He is expected to have his hands full with a marathon of meetings with Japanese officials including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) President Shinichi Kitaoka, among others.
Duterte was supposed to pay a courtesy call on Emperor Akihito during his first visit to Japan in October, 2016. However, the meeting was canceled following the death of the Emperor's uncle, Prince Mikasa at the age of 100.
Duterte arrived in Haneda, Tokyo, at 2:45 a.m. He was greeted by Philippine Ambassador to Tokyo Jose Laurel V, and Deputy Chief of Mission Eduardo Menez from the Philippine side.
He was also greeted by State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kazuyuki Nakane and New Japanese Ambassador to Manila Koji Haneda.
Included in Duterte's official delegation to Japan are Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Cabinet Secretary Jun Evasco, and Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go.
‘Most righteous way’ Meanwhile, President Duterte said he intends to welcome Trump as an “important leader” and listen to his views on these pressing security concerns.
Trump is scheduled to embark on a 12-day visit across Asia starting November 3 amid rising tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
His last stop will be Manila for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related meetings on November 12 and 13. He is expected to hold talks with Duterte but will skip the East Asia Summit with the ASEAN leaders and other heads of government from China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia, and New Zealand on November 14.
Prior to the ASEAN Summit in Manila, Trump and Duterte are expected to join other leaders for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Vietnam.
“I would deal with President Trump in the most righteous way, welcome him as an important leader, as a matter of fact, the important leader on this side of the planet,” Duterte said during a press conference before leaving for Tokyo last Sunday night.
“I would have to also listen to him what he has to say. My responses would be calibrated of what he would ask me,” he added.
Duterte said he has not personally met Trump but noticed that he and the US President “move our mouths in the same cadence.”
He said the situation in North Korea would be high on the agenda in his talks with Trump, warning that a “nuclear war is totally unacceptable to everybody.”
“We are worried, all of us, that you know, Murphy’s Law, ‘If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong.’ So, that has always been a problem for us,” he said.
Duterte said it would be good if the United States, Japan, and South Korea would reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to avert a catasrophic nuclear war.
To ease the tension in the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, he said concerned countries must also assure Kim that no one was seeking his ouster.
“Just tell him that nobody’s threatening him, that there will be no war, and that if he can just tone down or stand down, stop the threats, and that would be the same for America,” he said.
“Just to assure him that nobody’s after you, and America is not about ready to destroy a generation or a nation of people,” he added.