Japan-New Zealand Summit Meeting

On Tuesday, September 11, commencing at 5:30 p.m. for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. Yoshihiko Noda, Prime Minister of Japan, held a meeting with the Rt. Hon John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand, who is currently visiting Japan, at the Prime Minister's Office. An overview of the meeting is as follows.

1. At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Noda stated that he was pleased to welcome Prime Minister Key during the year marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Japan-New Zealand diplomatic relations. He again expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the great amount of support offered by New Zealand in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake. He extended his wish to reaffirm Japan and New Zealand's strong bonds as countries that had experienced earthquakes, noting that he heard that Prime Minister Key had visited the region affected by the earthquake and tsunami the previous day. wished Prime Minister Key replied thanking Japan for extending swift support following the earthquake in Christchurch in February last year, and again expressed his condolences for the loss of 28 Japanese nationals in that natural disaster.
   
   
2. The leaders reaffirmed that Japan and New Zealand had common fundamental values and were important partners sharing benefits in fields such as politics, economy and culture, and discussed bilateral relations and regional situations. In particular, the two leaders had an exchange of views on situations in East Asia and the Pacific Island Countries. They confirmed that they would cooperate closely in the context of such regional frameworks as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the East Asia Summit (EAS).
   
   
3. Concerning the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Prime Minister Noda noted that as he had announced last November Japan would be entering into discussions with relevant countries with a view to joining TPP negotiations, and explained that his opinion on the matter had not changed. Prime Minister Key would welcom Japan's participation, and said that New Zealand was committed to making the TPP a high quality agreement. The two leaders shared the view that they would continue to communicate closely.
   
   
4. The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of cooperating on initiatives for various issues moving forward, noting that their two countries were important partners in the Asia-Pacific region.