Japan PM starts eight-day trip to Southeast Asia

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged on Friday that the conflict in Ukraine should be stopped quickly with a peaceful solution.

Indonesia is Kishida's first stop on an eight-day trip to Southeast Asia and Europe that will also take him to Vietnam, Thailand, Italy and the United Kingdom.

They discussed Indonesia's role as chair of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations. Widodo has invited Ukraine's President to attend the G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in November 2022 that will take place in Bali.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin will attend the summit. In a joint statement, Kishida said that Japan will continue the cooperation with Indonesia in strengthening the protection of open and free oceans in the Indo-Pacific regions.