Liaison Meeting of the Government and Ruling Parties
[Provisional translation]
On May 13, 2024, Prime Minister Kishida attended a Liaison Meeting of the Government and Ruling Parties at the Prime Minister’s Office.
In his opening remarks and on the topic of diplomacy, Prime Minister Kishida said:
“First of all, I visited France, Brazil, and Paraguay at the beginning of this month.
Japan led discussions on such issues as climate change, digital and artificial intelligence (AI), free trade, and economic security in the Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) chaired by Japan. We consider it a significant achievement that our efforts over the past decade have set Indonesia and Thailand on the path to accession to the OCED based on the common foundation of democracy and market economy.
President Macron of France and I held candid discussions on the regional situation and announced the formal commencement of negotiations on a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA). In South America, I delivered a speech on Japan’s foreign policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean for the first time in ten years and affirmed cooperation toward the G20 (Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy) Rio de Janeiro Summit in November. I also deepened relations of trust with President Lula of Brazil and President Peña of Paraguay and expressed my intention to accelerate the expansion of people-to-people exchanges with the Nikkei (Japanese immigrants and descendants) community.
I met with the families of the abductees who visited the United States at the Prime Minister’s Office and attended the Citizens’ Rally to Demand the Immediate Return to Japan of All Abductees at the Same Time. The abduction of Japanese nationals, an issue whose resolution has time constraints, is a human rights issue about which we cannot let our mindfulness dwindle for even a moment, as the families of the victims continue to age. In Japan, the sense of urgency is growing stronger not only among the families of the abductees but also among the public. As the Prime Minister, I will do my utmost to boldly take on the abductions issue, with the resolve to settle it by any means with my own hands.”