Prime Minister Ishiba's Remarks at the Joint Press Occasion with President Marcos of the Philippines

Good evening, everyone. Magandang gabi po. (Good evening.)

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to President Marcos and the people of the Philippines for the warm welcome I have received.

The Philippines and Japan are neighbors connected by the sea. Earlier, before meeting with President Marcos, I had the opportunity to meet with the second-generation (Nikkei Nisei) Japanese-Filipino community here in the Philippines, and I reflected on the journey our two nations have shared. Tomorrow, I will visit the Japanese Memorial Garden in Caliraya, Laguna. I am deeply grateful for the support extended by your country in establishing this monument.

After nearly a century of the efforts and hardships of our predecessors, Japan and the Philippines have now become partners close to the level of an "alliance." Just now, President Marcos spoke of a golden age for Japan and the Philippines. Japan regards this as being of great significance for the region, the world, and the people of both our countries.

Next year will mark the 70th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Philippines. As the Philippines is an extremely valued and important neighbor for Japan, I am determined to further enhance close communication and cooperation between President Marcos and myself, with a view to further strengthening the bonds of friendship between our two nations.

President Marcos and I initially held a small-group meeting, during which we spoke frankly about regional and global affairs. Later, during the expanded meeting, we had a thorough discussion covering a wide range of topics, including agriculture and disaster management.

Regarding security, our bilateral cooperation has deepened in recent years in a multi-layered manner. We agreed to begin negotiations on an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement (ACSA). We also confirmed we will launch inter-government discussions towards the eventual conclusion of an agreement on information security. Additionally, we reaffirmed the importance of trilateral cooperation among Japan, the Philippines, and the United States.

In the economic sector, I stated that Japan will leverage its strengths to the fullest in cooperating towards President Marcos's goal of elevating the Philippines to upper-middle-income status. I outlined our comprehensive package of cooperation in areas such as information and communications technology, the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC), energy, mineral resources, infrastructure, and disaster prevention. President Marcos and I agreed to further strengthen our partnership towards advancing these initiatives.

President Marcos has a deep understanding of the agricultural sector. As a former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries myself, I enjoyed the opportunity to exchange views with him on a wide variety of topics. We will deepen our cooperation in this important field still further.

We exchanged views on regional and international affairs. We will continue to engage in close communication between our two countries in opposing any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East and South China Seas, and in working to bring about a Free and Open Indo-Pacific based on the rule of law.

We also discussed the global economy, giving consideration to the impact that U.S. tariff measures, and the retaliatory exchange between the U.S. and China, are having on the world economy and the multilateral free trade system.

In the Philippines, many Japanese companies are contributing to the local economy. I conveyed to President Marcos that we will continue to listen closely to the views expressed by the Philippines and work in pursuit of better outcomes.

The curtain has already risen on Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. I was delighted to hear from President Marcos that he attended the Osaka Expo 55 years ago. As someone of the same age, I also visited the Expo three times, and perhaps we even passed each other without knowing it. The Philippines' National Day will be on [June 7th]*, and I sincerely hope that many people from the Philippines visit Kansai and other parts of Japan.

Salamat po. (Thank you.)

*: Here, Prime Minister Ishiba said “June  6th,” but he intended to say “June  7th.” The transcript has been edited to show the intended meaning.