Japan-Lesotho Relations
Japan-Lesotho Summit Meeting
August 21, 2025
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
On August 21, commencing at 3:15 p.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Mr. ISHIBA Shigeru, Prime Minister of Japan, held a summit meeting with Rt. Hon. Mr. Samuel Ntsokoane MATEKANE, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, who is visiting Japan to participate in the in the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9). The overview of the meeting is as follows:
- At the outset, Prime Minister ISHIBA expressed his gratitude for the participation of Their Majesties King Letsie III and Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso to the National Day event of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, last month and expressed his desire to work together to further strengthen the bilateral relationship, notably the economic relationship. In response, Prime Minister Matekane highly appreciated TICAD 9 and stated that, referring to the abovementioned participation of Their Majesties, he was informed that the visit to Japan of Their Majesties was deeply meaningful. He also expressed his desire to further strengthen bilateral relations with Japan.
- Following that, Prime Minister ISHIBA referred to the decision made to provide food assistance in light of the worsening food insecurity caused by drought and other factors in Lesotho and stated that Japan would continue to support food security, including through human resource development. Prime Minister ISHIBA also stated that Japan would like to work together with Lesotho to promote renewable energy through the rehabilitation of small-scale hydropower generation. In response, Prime Minister Matekane expressed his gratitude for Japan’s support to date and his expectation for investment by Japanese companies.