Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has begun an international trip to Japan, South Korea, Israel and the United Kingdom.

The Republican governor's office described the trip as a "trade mission," but it's is also seen as an attempt to bolster his foreign relations experience ahead of an expected run for the White House next year.

During their meeting Monday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told DeSantis that reinforcement of Japan-United States ties is key to ensuring the peace, stability and prosperity of the international society, and the two exchanged views on regional issues, according to a Japanese Foreign Ministry statement.

He also delivered remarks to a business roundtable where he encouraged Japanese companies to invest in Florida.

"We're just looking at Japan," he said. "We love the innovation. And then just the companies here, I mean, these are some of the best companies in the history of business. We know that they've done a lot of great work in Florida [and] also many, many other states."

The trip comes as DeSantis is widely expected to announce a presidential bid, though he has yet to officially announce his candidacy. DeSantis is considered the biggest challenger to former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election. He is expected to announce his candidacy in early May, after the state's legislative session ends.

He has already been meeting with Republican officials and aggressively touring battleground states in the U.S., as well as early primary states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Kishida welcomed DeSantis’ first trip to Japan and expressed his expectations that the visit will contribute to further strengthening of Japan’s relationship with the United States as well as Florida, the Foreign Ministry said.

George Washington University political science professor Danny Hayes told Spectrum News that it’s typical for prospective White House candidates to make these sorts of visits, especially if they lack major foreign relations experience.

"They take a trip or a couple of trips overseas to demonstrate that they could serve in the role as sort of the country's chief diplomat, if they were elected president," Hayes said. "It's a way to send a signal mostly, I think, to donors and other political elites, that they're capable of handling that part of the job."

The trip follows a wave of endorsements from several Florida House Republican lawmakers for former President Trump over DeSantis, a blow to the governor. More than half of the state’s Republican delegation has endorsed Trump, while only one member has endorsed DeSantis.

"It's been a difficult couple of months for him in the polls, Trump seems to have clawed back some of what he may have lost to DeSantis earlier in the year," Hayes said. "And so I think for DeSantis, it's also an opportunity to try to get people to focus on other things."

The trip also comes after DeSantis faced criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike last month when he called Russia’s invaison of Ukraine a “territorial dispute.” Hayes doesn’t believe the four-country trip will erase the way potential voters interpret DeSantis’ comments on Ukraine, but that there may not be as large a focus on that one foreign policy issue.

"Making a trip to Israel or to Asia isn't likely to displace that from the concerns especially from some in the Republican foreign policy community who were quite concerned about that," Hayes said. "Obviously DeSantis his position was praised by some people in the Republican Party who agree with him."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (right), with Florida's first lady, Casey DeSantis, talks with journalists after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the latter's official residence in Tokyo on April 24, 2023. (Pool Photo via AP/Kimimasa Mayama)

During his two-day visit in Tokyo, DeSantis was also scheduled to hold talks with Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and business executives. He is also expected to meet with South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. 

After Japan and South Korea, DeSantis will go to Israel, where he will deliver an address commemorating the 75th anniversary of the country's founding. 

DeSantis is accompanied by state officials and his wife, Casey DeSantis.