Japanese foreign minister honors war dead in Seoul Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya burns incense to pay tribute to South Korean patriotic martyrs and war dead at the National Cemetery in Seoul on Jan.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said on Sunday he planned to attend Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president on Jan. 20, as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government hopes to maintain close ties with its security ally.

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan were set to hold talks Monday on ways to sustain and advance bilateral ties, as well as trilateral cooperation with the United States, ahead of the launch of the second Donald Trump administration.

Takeshi Iwaya said he aimed to meet with other senior officials from the incoming administration to lay the groundwork for a visit by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will attend Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president on Jan. 20, ensuring that a high-ranking official from a key Asian ally is on hand for the event,

In an online report from Tokyo, the paper quoted its source as saying that Iwaya would be the first Japanese cabinet member to attend the swearing-in of a U.S. president and that he would attend at the invitation of Trump's camp.