Joint Press Conference by Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru and Prime Minister Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim of Malaysia

I am making this visit to Malaysia as my first bilateral trip since taking office as prime minister. I wish to express my appreciation to Prime Minister Anwar and indeed all the Malaysian people for extending such warm hospitality to me.

It has been 34 years since my last visit to Malaysia. At that time, as a second-term Diet member, I visited Malaysia as the deputy leader of a Liberal Democratic Party Youth Division delegation.

Among my companions then were Mr. Tokai, now Chairman of the Political Reform Headquarters, and Mr. Suzuki, now Chairman of the General Council. Returning here after such a long period, I am both astonished and deeply moved by the remarkable development I have witnessed.

I have always been impressed by Prime Minister Anwar’s passionate and sincere remarks at various international conferences. It is truly an honor to have had the opportunity to engage in an extended conversation with Prime Minister Anwar during this visit.

Here as we begin a new year, we find the international situation becoming increasingly complex and uncertain. In such an environment, one of the priority issues for Japanese diplomacy is strengthening our cooperation with ASEAN and this region of Southeast Asia.

Located at the juncture where the Indian Ocean region meets the Pacific Ocean region, Malaysia, a country connecting ASEAN through land and through sea, is a comprehensive strategic partner that shares fundamental values and principles with Japan. Japan wants to act in close cooperation with Malaysia, this year's ASEAN chair, to lead the world to cooperation through the realization of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).

With regard to our bilateral relations between Japan and Malaysia in the area of security, we welcomed progress in our strategic security dialogue, such as the holding of our first bilateral foreign affairs vice-ministerial consultation in nine years and our first-ever strategic dialogue between our countries' diplomatic and defense authorities.

We have seen steady progress in various kinds of cooperation, including bilateral training between Japan and Malaysia as well as cooperation through Official Security Assistance (OSA). Japan and Malaysia will further enhance our cooperation in areas that include cyberspace.

As for economic matters, while giving due consideration to the Madani policy framework championed by Prime Minster Anwar that places importance on sustainability, innovation, and prosperity, we agreed to strengthen our collaboration towards boosting supply chain resilience.

With regard to the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC), we saw completely eye to eye on bolstering our cooperation further. We will also deepen Japan-Malaysia bilateral cooperative relations in the area of green transformation (GX) in general. In order to ensure energy security while advancing decarbonization, we aim to further promote cooperation in areas such as ammonia-fueled gas turbine power generation, carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen, and LNG, including, notably, projects located in Sarawak.

As Malaysia is a country that has been heavily affected by floods, we agreed to cooperate in making use of Japan's experience and knowledge in disaster risk management.

Prime Minister Anwar and I agreed that going forward, Japan and Malaysia will continue to cooperate in many areas within the international community. We took up the East China and South China Seas, the Middle East, the situation in Myanmar, and other matters as issues of urgency and had discussions about them. We agreed that we will continue to engage in close communication on these matters as well.

Insofar as Malaysia is a major country boasting a large Muslim population and serves as a bridge connecting Southeast Asia and the Middle East, with regard to the situation in the Middle East, including the situation in Gaza, we agreed to cooperate to foster regional peace and stability, including by utilizing East Asian knowledge to cultivate economic independence. I truly value having had the opportunity to engage in these discussions with Prime Minister Anwar, whom I deeply admire.

I again express my heartfelt appreciation for the warm welcome given to me during my visit, and I very much look forward to having the opportunity to extend our hospitality in Japan to many Malaysians visiting Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai taking place this year. If circumstances allow, I also hope to welcome Prime Minister Anwar to Japan next time to exchange views once again while further fostering the trust between us.

Terima kasih. (Thank you.)