Nikkei wrote that Philippine President Duterte will visit Tokyo in late May to deliver a speech at the annual “Future of Asia” conference to be hosted by Nikkei on May 30-31. The paper wrote that the Philippine leader is also making arrangements to hold talks with Prime Minister Abe in Tokyo and that this will be his third visit to Japan as president. The paper also said that Duterte has been strengthening diplomatic ties with Japan, winning 1 trillion yen ($9 billion) in economic assistance from Tokyo in 2017, and that Japan is supporting a number of infrastructure projects in the Philippines, including the development of a subway line in Manila. The paper added that Duterte has also worked to improve his nation’s strained relations with China by basically shelving the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Quoting a presidential spokesperson as telling the paper that Duterte is planning to attend an international conference on the “Belt and Road” initiative to be held in Beijing in April, the paper conjectured that the Philippine leader’s planned visit to Japan is intended to strike a balance between Japan and China.