Japan-Philippines Relations

May 20, 2022
Japanese

On May 20, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, held a telephone talk with His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., President-elect of the Republic of the Philippines, for about 15 minutes from 10:30 a.m. The overview of the talk is as follows:

  1. At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida once again communicated the message of congratulations to President-elect Marcos on his victory in the presidential election, and expressed his wish to take the bilateral Strategic Partnership to yet another height with President-elect Marcos, with whom Prime Minister Kishida shares the birth year in the following year of the normalization of the Japan-Philippines diplomatic relations. Prime Minister Kishida expressed his resolve to continue cooperation on the economic front such as infrastructure development including railways and Subic Bay development, as well as in the security and coast guard law enforcement fields, through the High Level Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation and the Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting (“2+2”), among others. In response, President-elect Marcos stated that the relations with Japan are of utmost importance to the Philippines, and communicated his intention to deepen cooperation with Prime Minister Kishida in a wide range of areas. The two leaders concurred on coordinating bilaterally toward further strengthening the Japan–Philippines relations.
  2. The two leaders also exchanged views on regional affairs. Prime Minister Kishida expressed his wish for future close coordination with President-elect Marcos for the realization of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” and the two leaders concurred on future coordination to realize regional peace and prosperity.
  3. The two leaders concurred on holding an in-person meeting as early as possible and deepening the discussion going forward.

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