BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday he will attend the enthronement ceremony of Japanese Emperor Naruhito scheduled for Oct. 22 as part of a tour of Asia and the Middle East.
Speaking outside the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Bolsonaro said he would travel to Japan, joking that they have made him an outfit he "never thought he would wear, with a bow tie and all."
After Japan, he will make official visits to China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The tour is being seen as an attempt to build bridges after Bolsonaro had previously criticized China, and Brazil followed in the footsteps of the United States by moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Catherine Evans)