Japanese government sources say arrangements are being made for Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae to visit Britain and Italy for talks with the countries' leaders prior to attending the Group of Seven summit, scheduled in France in mid-June.

In January, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni separately visited Japan for talks with Takaichi.

At the time, Starmer invited Takaichi to Chequers, the UK prime minister's official country residence near London.

But one of the sources said the Japanese leader's visit to London remains fluid as there is increasing pressure for Starmer to resign after Britain's ruling Labour Party suffered a major defeat in local elections.

This will be the first visit to Europe by a Japanese prime minister since July 2024 when then Prime Minister Kishida Fumio traveled to Germany.

Sources said that by visiting countries other than France in conjunction with the G7 summit, Japan aims to demonstrate its presence in Europe.

Through the visits, Japan is also hoping to deepen discussions on cooperation in economic security areas such as strengthening supply chains for products like critical minerals and on the Middle East situation.