Courtesy Call from Governor Youngkin of the State of Virginia (Summary)

On April 27, commencing at 9:30 a.m., for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, received a courtesy call from the Honorable Glenn Youngkin, Governor of the State of Virginia. An overview of the meeting is as follows.

At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida welcomed Governor Youngkin’s visit to Japan, and emphasized that Japan and Virginia have shared a strong relationship over many decades through investment and job creation by Japanese companies in Virginia as well the Sister City relationships their communities have forged. He then expressed his hopes that Governor Youngkin’s visit to Japan would serve as an opportunity to further strengthen Japan-U.S. and Japan-Virginia ties. Governor Youngkin responded that Virginia and Japan already enjoy a robust economic relationship, and that he looks forward to further deepening this partnership of trust.

Prime Minister Kishida stated that the most important issue for Japan and the U.S. is to ensure peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. The Governor expressed his respect for the leadership displayed by the Prime Minister regarding the decision to reinforce Japan’s defense capabilities and substantially increase Japan’s defense budget as stipulated in the new "National Security Strategy" formulated late last year by the Japanese government.