On Wednesday, April 11, Mr. Yoshihiko Noda, the Prime Minister of Japan, held a meeting with H.M. Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, who was on an official working visit to Japan, at the office of Prime Minister from 6:30 p.m. for approximately 30 minutes. Following the meeting, Prime Minister Noda and King Hamad attended the signing ceremony of memoranda on policy consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries and on defense exchanges between the defense authorities of the two countries. Subsequently, Prime Minister Noda invited King Hamad to a dinner. The overview of the meeting and the dinner is as follows (Attending on the Japanese side were Mr. Tsuyoshi Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary [meeting only], Mr. Hiroyuki Nagahama, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary [dinner only], Mr. Ryuji Yamane, Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Yasuhiro Nakane, Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Mr. Akihisa Nagashima, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, and Mr. Shigeki Sumi, Ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of Bahrain, among others. Attending on Bahrain side were H.H. Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain, and related ministers, among others):

1. Bilateral Relations
   
   1) At the beginning, Prime Minister Noda stated that Japan would like to develop multi-layered relations with Bahrain in a wide range of fields, while taking advantage of this year's 40th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Bahrain. King Hamad stated that Bahrain would also like to strengthen bilateral relations with Japan in every field on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Bahrain.
   2) Both sides shared the view to facilitate policy consultations and to expand dialogue and cooperation in the fields of policy and security on the basis of the memoranda on policy consultations between the respective foreign ministries and on defense exchanges between the defense authorities of the two countries.
   3) Prime Minister Noda welcomed the submission of a final report by the follow-up committee concerning implementation of the National Dialogue and of proposals by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, and stated that he expected progress of political reforms in a tangible and visible manner through which transparency and freedom of speech are guaranteed. King Hamad stated that the report by the follow-up committee concerning implementation of proposals by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry would be implemented and that he would like to learn from Japan's experience. Furthermore, both sides shared the view on starting discussions on human rights by utilizing policy consultations and other occasions.
   4) Prime Minister Noda expressed his expectation that the newly established Japan-Bahrain Economic Cooperation Association would further strengthen the economic relations between the two countries. He stated that he would like Bahrain to utilize cutting-edge technologies that Japanese enterprises possess for an oil factory and an earth observation satellite that Bahrain has been considering. King Hamad stated that he is a fan of Japanese products and expressed his desire to develop cooperation with Japan, especially for the oil factory. Moreover, both sides shared the view on advancing cooperation toward expansion of manufacturing activities in Bahrain.
   5) Prime Minister Noda expressed his desire to resume Japan-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) Free Trade Agreement negotiations within the year 2012, and he expressed his expectation that Bahrain would take initiative in the GCC member states to resume the negotiations. H.E. Dr. Hassan bin Abdulla Fakhroo, Minister of Industry and Commerce, stated that Japan is without doubt one of the highest priority nations for the GCC to advance such negotiations.
   6) Prime Minister Noda stated that after a year since the occurrence of the Great East Japan Earthquake, restoration has been in steady progress in Japan and he requested the revision and relaxation of import restrictions of Japanese foods to Bahrain which have been enforced after the earthquake, in consideration of Japan's situation. In response, Dr. Hassan bin Abdulla Fakhroo, Minister of Industry and Commerce, stated that Bahrain has implemented the restriction policy along with other GCC member states, and that the restrictions would soon be lifted.
   7) Prime Minister Noda stated that North Korea plans to launch a missile, which North Korea claims to be a "satellite". This would be a security threat for Japan and an obvious violation of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and therefore if North Korea launches the missile, the international community and the UN Security Council should issue a firm message to North Korea. King Hamad stated that Bahrain supports Japan's stance.
   
   
2. Regional Situation
   At the dinner followed by the meeting, Prime Minister Noda and King Hamad exchanged opinions frankly on the situations in Syria and in the Middle East and North Africa, among others, while at times also discussing football and other topics in a friendly atmosphere.