Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will skip COP31, the UN climate conference that opened in Antalya, Turkey, on Monday, because the dates overlap with a day of Diet questioning, the government said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara announced the decision. He said scheduling conflicts and other factors made attendance difficult to arrange.
About 90 heads of state and government and roughly 300 ministers are taking part in the conference, which opened in the southern Turkish city on Monday.
"Record temperature rises are advancing faster than expected and causing serious damage," Turkey's environment minister said at the opening.
A rare appearance for Japanese premiers
Japanese prime ministers have attended the conference four times in the past 30 years, Kihara said. Those appearances include the third conference, held in Kyoto when Japan chaired the talks that produced the Kyoto Protocol.
Takaichi also skipped an online meeting of G7 leaders last month, and the absence has drawn questions in the Diet.
Kihara said the G7 meeting's schedule changed several times and was settled only just before it was held. He said the prime minister's participation was considered, but preparations for equipment and contractors could not be completed in time, making it appropriate for someone to attend in her place.
Drinking report denied
Kihara also denied a report that Takaichi had been drinking at a dinner with senior Liberal Democratic Party officials shortly before the G7 meeting.
“To prepare for the possibility that added agenda items would require her to take part herself, she drank no alcohol at all at the meeting with party executives at the official residence that evening, and I want to make this point clear.”Minoru Kihara, Chief Cabinet Secretary
On Monday, Takaichi met Vietnam's prime minister and agreed to strengthen cooperation in security, the economy and other areas.
She plans to attend the ASEAN summit in the Philippines and the APEC leaders' meeting in China, both scheduled for the middle of this month.