Press Conferences

Mr. KITAMURA Toshihiro, Press Secretary: I have two announcements at the outset.

The first is about Prime Minister Ishiba’s overseas visit. As announced in the Chief Cabinet Secretary’s press conference this morning, Prime Minister Ishiba is scheduled to visit Viet Nam and the Philippines from April 27 to 30, circumstances permitting.

Strengthening the relations with Southeast Asia, the growth center of the world located at a strategic juncture, is the cornerstone to realize a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)” based on the rule of law, and is also one of the top priorities of Japanese diplomacy. The relations with Viet Nam and the Philippines, whose populations exceed 100 million and which continue strong economic growth, are especially important for Japan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) intends to steadfastly support such summit diplomacy.

Press Secretary Kitamura: The second announcement is about the application for the 19th Japan International MANGA Award.

MOFA is now accepting entries to the 19th Japan International MANGA Award. The due date of this application is June 30. MOFA established the Japan International MANGA Award in 2007, with the aim of promoting manga culture and international cultural exchanges through manga by awarding overseas artists for their excellent manga works. The Award has been presented every year since then.

Among entries, the Gold Award will be given to the best work and the Silver Awards to three other excellent works, and the award ceremony will be held in Japan at the end of the current fiscal year. We will invite the winners to Japan to attend the award ceremony. Please refer to the website of Japan International MANGA Award for details.

These are the two announcements from me.

Kyodo News, Kawachi: U.S. Secretary of State Rubio announced to fundamentally reform the Department of State by consolidating and eliminating multiple bureaus. This includes the elimination of bureaus that have played roles in promoting human rights and democracy around the world. Thereby, it could be accelerating a shift away from traditional value-oriented diplomacy of the U.S. that emphasizes democracy and human rights. First, I would like to ask how MOFA views these developments by the U.S. In addition, please share with us your thoughts that this will have any impact on Japan-U.S. diplomatic relations.

Press Secretary Kitamura: Regarding the announcement on the reorganization plan of the U.S. Department of State that you just asked, I am aware that it was made yesterday, April 22, local time.

We are not in the position of commenting on this, as this concerns the administrative organization of another country’s government.

That being said, the U.S. Department of State is the counterpart to MOFA , and we have built relationships across a very wide range of fields over many years. Especially, given the current international situation, there are many issues that Japan and the U.S. need to address together. Going forward, we would like to continue building a strong relationship of trust and cooperation between the diplomatic authorities of the two countries at various levels, and elevate the Japan-U.S. Alliance to new heights.