During his attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba found himself seated and preoccupied with his smartphone while other world leaders engaged in customary greetings and interactions before the session. This lack of adherence to diplomatic norms, demonstrated when Ishiba remained seated while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approached him for a handshake, hinted at a possible oversight in briefing and a lack of diplomatic finesse on Ishiba's part. Despite the visible inexperience, it was suggested that Ishiba's primary focus might have been on addressing domestic political challenges, including discussions with opposition parties in Japan about tax revisions while concurrently fulfilling international obligations.
A high-ranking official from Japan's Foreign Ministry remarked on the comparably relaxed schedule Ishiba had during the APEC summit, potentially attributing this to the Prime Minister's need to juggle international engagements with pressing political matters at home. Ishiba's attention was notably divided between fostering cooperation with international counterparts and addressing critical issues within the ruling coalition and opposition parties in Japan, indicating a complex balancing act for the Prime Minister. Despite these challenges, Ishiba's efforts at the conferences resulted in notable achievements, such as securing assurances from Chinese President Xi Jinping on lifting a ban on Japanese seafood imports and establishing a trilateral secretariat with the U.S. and South Korea for cooperation on various regional issues, including North Korea.