Press Conferences

Mr. Norio Maruyama, Foreign Press Secretary: Hon. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is visiting Japan from April 10 to 16.

Prime Minister Abe held a Summit Meeting with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe today, and is scheduled to hold a dinner reception after a signing ceremony and a joint press announcement.

Additionally, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe received courtesy calls from Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Hiroshige Seko, yesterday, and Minister of Defense Tomomi Inada and Minister of Finance Aso Taro, today.

It is hoped that this visit to Japan by Prime Minister Wickremesinghe will further deepen and expand the comprehensive partnership between our two countries.

Foreign Press Secretary Maruyama: Mr. Ángel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), is visiting Japan from April 12 to 17.

Secretary-General Gurría is scheduled to meet with key government officials and other leaders, and attend various events, including the International Economic Forum on Asia being co-organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the OECD Development Centre, and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA); the OECD-Keidanren Seminar on Trade and Investment; and the announcement of the OECD Economic Survey of Japan, during his stay.

During this visit, Japan hopes to reaffirm the importance of free and open trade and investment with Secretary-General Gurría, as well as to launch the International Economic Forum on Asia, an event that marks Japan’s return to the OECD Development Centre, and discuss and deepen understanding of the importance of quality infrastructure that Japan puts emphasis on.

Foreign Press Secretary Maruyama: Yesterday the Cabinet of Japan approved its applying to host the International Registered Exhibition in 2025 in Osaka and its submitting of a bid dossier. Japan plans to submit a bid dossier to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in the week of April 24.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) established the Task Force for Japan’s Bidding of World Expo 2025 headed by State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kentaro Sonoura yesterday, and the task force conducted its first meeting. It also formed a task force at the Japanese Embassy in France on the same day with the aim of strengthen information-gathering, lobbying and other aspects of the bid in Paris where the BIE’s headquarters are located.

Japan intends to engage in bid activities through a Japan-wide effort, and MOFA will also devote ministry-wide efforts to that end.