Japan-Finland Relations
Japan-Finland Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
May 13, 2023
On May 13th, commencing at 9:10 a.m. (local time; May 13th, 4:10 p.m. JST), for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who was visiting Stockholm, the Kingdom of Sweden, to attend the EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum, held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Pekka HAAVISTO, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Hayashi stated that, as Russia's aggression against Ukraine and other factors had made the international security environment increasingly severe, cooperation with like-minded countries was more important than ever and congratulated Finland’s accession to NATO. In response, Minister Haavisto expressed his expectation that Finland's accession to NATO would contribute to strengthening the security of Europe. The two ministers shared the view that the security of Europe and that of Indo-Pacific is inseparable, and concurred to strengthen cooperation between Japan and NATO, which is deepening its engagement in the Indo-Pacific.
- Minister Hayashi expressed his pleasure to see that the bilateral friendship continues to evolve in a wide range of areas. The two ministers shared the view to promote people-to-people exchanges and further cooperation in the economic area, including the use of the Japan-Finland Working Holiday Agreement
- The two ministers affirmed that like-minded countries will continue to be united in their response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine. In addition, the two ministers exchanged views on regional affairs such as China and North Korea.