President Duterte has said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be coming to Davao City in January for a friendly visit and a show of solidarity.
“(It’s) just a friendly visit. It really is official because he is an official, he is the Prime Minister,” Duterte said in a television interview Thursday.
“We were given the info way back when we visited Japan but it was passed on to me as a private confidential matter and during our talks which was really one of the longest that I’ve had had with a sovereign chief of state,” he said, referring to his meeting with Abe during his official visit to Japan in October.
According to Duterte, the Japanese Prime Minister “was really interested in helping us (through) the investments.”
“But most of all he so wanted to visit my place, Davao City,” the President added, noting that Davao has the biggest number of Filipinos who are of Japanese descent.
However, the President said that he has not been appraised on how Abe’s visit will unfold.
“He might want just a very modest thing and I’m not even at liberty (to talk about it),” he said.
“So to me, he just wants a show of solidarity. So until such time then, however, late it may, be I will inform the nation.” (Elena L. Aben)