TOKYO // The outspoken Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte worries his Japanese hosts.
Not just his policy toward the US but also his informal style: Will he chew gum in front of the emperor?
Mr Duterte arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday for a three-day visit, his first since becoming president in June.
For diplomats and political leaders, the main issue is his US policy and how Japan can help mend those ties.
Tokyo is a major US ally, and has watched with concern as Mr Duterte criticised the US and said he would scale back his country’s military engagement with Washington. He has also worried Japan and the US by reaching out to China.
Before their meeting on Tuesday, Japanese foreign minister Fumio Kishida said he planned to ask Mr Duterte what his real intentions were. He said prime minister Shinzo Abe will do the same on Wednesday.
“I think it would be important that we ... directly hear opinions from president Duterte himself,” Mr Kishida said.
The worries about Mr Duterte were reinforced on Tuesday when he lashed out again at the US again and urged foreign businesses in the Philippines to “pack up and leave” if they were worried about his deadly drug war.
He voiced outrage at comments the previous day by the top US envoy to Asia that his fiery rhetoric and crime war, which has claimed about 3,700 lives in four months, were bad for business.
“These Americans are really crazy. Their style is to walk here. They think they are somebodies,” Mr Duterte said, as he held up a newspaper with headlines reporting the criticism from US assistant secretary of state Daniel Russel.
“Russel says ‘Duterte comments causing worries in business communities’. Then you pack up and leave. We will recover, I assure you.”
He also made a veiled threat to revoke a 2014 defence pact allowing large numbers of US troops, warships and planes to enter the Philippines for combat drills.
In Japan, a country where formality and politeness are highly valued, some are worried about Mr Duterte’s rough side, particularly when he meets Emperor Akihito on Friday.
Japanese TV shows have repeatedly shown Mr Duterte apparently chewing gum at meetings and other public occasions.
In footage of a meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping, Mr Duterte walked in with his hands in his pockets and chewed gum during the handshake and a signing ceremony.
“When he makes a courtesy visit to the emperor, his behavior could have a major impact,” senior lawmaker Itsunori Onodera said on Fuji TV. “I trust he understands the consequences and would not do such a thing [as chewing gum]. I do hope the Philippine side will remind him of that particular point.”
Mr Duterte often does not button the top button of his shirt, wears jeans and has been seen without socks.
In Japan, where the emperor was considered a living god until the end of the Second World War, people are expected to be extra polite to him and his family.
“It’s unbelievable. I have never seen anything like that!” former diplomat Kunihiko Miyake said on Fuji TV. “How could he dare to behave in ways that could cause his host to lose face.”* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
