Japan-Italy Relations
Japan-Italy Summit Telephone Meeting
May 26, 2025
On May 26, commencing at 8:15 p.m. for approximately 35 minutes, Mr. ISHIBA Shigeru, Prime Minister of Japan, held a summit telephone talk with H.E. Ms. Giorgia MELONI, President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic. The overview of the talk is as follows.
- At the outset, Prime Minister Ishiba expressed his appreciation for President Meloni's initiative in being a mediator between Europe and the United States and hoped to deepen their cooperation at the G7 and other international fora. In response, President Meloni expressed her desire to further develop good relations between Italy and Japan, which have been growing ever closer.
- The two leaders welcomed the progress made in a wide range of cooperation based on the “Japan-Italy Action Plan”, and concurred that Japan and Italy will further deepen economic and cultural cooperation on the occasion of Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan, such as “food exchanges” through Japanese and Italian cuisine, both of which value ingredients.
- The two leaders concurred that they will make further progress on security cooperation, including the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), as Italy increases its involvement in the Indo-Pacific. The two leaders discussed a wide range of economic issues in detail, taking into account the impact of the U.S. tariff measures on global economy and the multilateral free trade system.