World / Obama administration Clinton's First Official Stop: Japan Secretary of state to discuss economy, North Korea By Gabriel Winant, Newser Staff Posted Feb 3, 2009 9:58 AM CST Copied Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton looks out toward the room full of people prior to her ceremonial swearing-in at the State Department in Washington, Monday, Feb. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson) The first stop on Hillary Clinton’s first official trip as secretary of state will be in Japan, reports Asahi Shimbun, allying Japanese fears that Tokyo would take a back seat to the Obama administration's focus on China. The trip will also include stops in China and South Korea. Clinton is expected to discuss the economic crisis and North Korea, and seek more Japanese help in Afghanistan. (More Obama administration stories.) Report an error