By Shannon Tiezzi
The speech has yet to be officially announced, but expectations are already rising.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been formally invited to address a joint session of Congress when he travels to Washington DC this April, AFP reports. Abe’s speech to Congress has been in the works for some time; the official announcement is expected to be made soon.
Abe will become the first Japanese prime minister to ever address both houses of the U.S. Congress, and the first to address any part of Congress in over 50 years. Then-Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda addressed the House of Representatives on June 22, 1961. Abe’s grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, also addressed the House in 1957, during his term as prime minister.
Abe’s speech is likely to be forward-looking, focusing on U.S.-Japan security relations as well as their economic ties — especially the effort to finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership (which faces a stumbling block in Congress unless the legislature votes to give Obama Trade Promotion Authority). However, given that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, discussion is already turning to how Abe will incorporate history into his remarks.
Read the full story at The Diplomat