Japan's PM planning Southeast Asian, European tour

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning to visit Southeast Asia and possibly countries in Europe during the upcoming Golden Week string of national holidays starting in late April, sources with knowledge of the matter said Tuesday.

According to the diplomatic sources, Kishida is looking to travel to Thailand in the early part of the holidays, as well as Indonesia and Vietnam.

During this leg of the tour, the Japanese leader will seek to bolster cooperation in a number of areas spanning economics and geopolitics, the sources said.

As for the potential European leg of his tour, the sources said Kishida is expected to address the ongoing situation in Ukraine with his respective counterparts and other senior officials.