Fujimori Seeks Senate Permission for China and Japan Trip

Peru’s President Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi has asked the Senate to authorize her absence from the country from November 15 to 21 for proposed visits to China and Japan. The request, addressed to Senate and Congress president Miguel Ángel Torres Morales, covers participation in the APEC leaders’ meeting and a subsequent visit to Tokyo. The November 6 letter says the cabinet approved the request that day. Fujimori said the trips would help Peru strengthen strategic partnerships and “... promote concrete opportunities for national development.” The proposed agenda emphasizes trade, investment, connectivity and digital transformation, alongside bringing smaller businesses into regional and global value chains. The preliminary schedule places Fujimori at the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen on November 18–19, followed by travel to Tokyo. A summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is proposed for November 20 at the Kantei. A business seminar and working lunch are also planned; the agendas remain subject to coordination. The Japan visit would mark ten years since the strategic partnership established on November 18, 2016. The letter also cites a 2024–2033 bilateral roadmap containing 61 commitments, adopted during Shigeru Ishiba’s November 2024 visit to Peru. If the Senate authorizes the trip, a Supreme Resolution would formalize the first vice president’s temporary responsibility for the presidential office.