Japan-France Relations
Dinner discussion with Japanese women who are active in France
May 1, 2024
On May 1, commencing at 7:40 p.m. local time (2:40 a.m. on May 2, Japan Time) for approximately 120 minutes, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who is visiting Paris, France to attend the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, participated in the dinner discussion with Japanese women who are active in France. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- Minister Kamikawa expressed her pleasure to exchange views with the participants and stated that as the first Japanese female Foreign Minister in about 20 years, she is strongly promoting “Women, Peace and Security (WPS)” as part of Japan’s major foreign policy initiatives. She also stated that she would like to hear valuable insights from the participants so as to further promoting women’s empowerment and gender equality in Japan.
- In addition, Minister Kamikawa conveyed her intention to support, not only at the national level but also at the regional level, Japanese companies that are expanding globally, through the officials in charge of cross-border economic affairs, whose assignment was announced prior to the trip. Minister Kamikawa also stated that she would like to strengthen the dissemination of the contents of the Japan Cultural Institute in Paris, which she visited on the same day, in the form of utilizing them in libraries and other institutes in third countries.
- The participants expressed that they agree with the efforts of Minister Kamikawa, who is an active woman in her own natural way; that both Japan and France have cultures with long histories, and that they would like to see their cultural assets used to further promote relations between the two countries in other areas such as the economy and diplomacy; and that they would like to contribute to new initiatives in supporting Japanese companies and cultural diplomacy, which Minister Kamikawa mentioned.
- In addition, there was a lively exchange of opinions on gender equality initiatives in French society and issues in the same field in Japanese society.