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[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hosted a summit meeting and other events with H.E. Mr. Dato’ Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, at the Prime Minister's Office.

First, the two leaders attended a ceremony by the guard of honor, and held a summit meeting afterward. Following this, the leaders held a joint press announcement.

The Prime Minister next hosted a banquet attended by Prime Minister Najib Razak and his spouse, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, and other relevant parties. In his greetings, the Prime Minister made the following remarks:

“Selamat malam (good evening). I would like to once again offer my heartfelt welcome to Prime Minister Najib Razak, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, and their associates upon their visit to Japan.

This year marks the important milestone of the establishment of the economic community by ASEAN. I would like to express my sincere respect to Prime Minister Najib for his leadership in serving as Chair of this ASEAN initiative.

In our Summit Meeting, I conveyed my intention to fully cooperate with the initiatives of Malaysia, the Chair Country, towards the integration and further development of ASEAN, which is an important partner of Japan. Furthermore, I am very pleased that, in our Summit Meeting, Prime Minister Najib and I agreed to newly elevate our relations to a strategic partnership, and to further deepen our bilateral cooperation on a wide range of issues in the regional and international society.  

When I visited Malaysia in July 2013, I received very warm hospitality from Prime Minister Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, which was brimming with friendship towards Japan. I still have fond memories of singing a Japanese song with Rosmah at the end of a banquet. Prime Minister Najib had caught a cold at the time, as I recall, and so he did not sing with us. I would like him to sing something tonight instead, although we have not prepared any karaoke equipment. 

Nevertheless, I would like to offer the same kind of heartfelt hospitality in return. We have invited here tonight many of the top leaders of political and financial circles who always work hard to bolster exchange and cooperation between Malaysia and Japan.

I would like to once again express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you in attendance this evening, whose ongoing efforts for friendly cooperation between our two nations have resulted in the strong development of the relationship between Japan and Malaysia.

We have decided to accept 500 people into Japan over the next five years, under the “Ostpolitik 2.0,” agreed on with Prime Minister Najib, in our shared belief that we must achieve further development toward the future of our bilateral relationship.  

Additionally, we will support the international students from various ASEAN countries studying at the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) by providing new scholarships.

Through such initiatives, I hope that the bonds between our two nations will deepen and broaden even more in the future.
I would now like to conclude my welcome greetings with a wish for the continued health and happiness of Prime Minister Najib and Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, and for the further development of the friendly, cooperative relationship between the people of Malaysia and the people of Japan.”