Japan-United States of America Relations

The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Leaders’ meeting was held in San Fransisco, U.S. for approximately 16 minutes from 4:44 p.m. on November 16th (local time, 9:44 am on November 17th Japan time), and Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio attended the meeting. The overview of the meeting is as follows. Participating countries also issued the Leaders’ Statement.

The IPEF Leaders’meeting was hosted by the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States of America, and attended by the representatives from Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan.

President Biden expressed his appreciation for the signing of the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement, the substantial conclusion of the negotiations of the IPEF Clean Economy Agreement and the IPEF Fair Economy Agreement. He also stated that further progress is needed aiming for high-level trade rules, including strong labor and environmental standards.

Prime Minister Kishida expressed his welcome for the significant progress made for just 1 year and a half since its launch in Tokyo as well as U.S. active commitment to the Indo-Pacific region. Prime Minister Kishida also stated that, in addition to setting high-level rules and standards, it is essential to formulate concrete cooperation projects and that Japan will continue to work to offer tangible benefits to participating countries in areas where they are needed.

Representatives from Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore also welcomed this outcome of IPEF and expressed their expectations for further collablllation in the future.