PH-Japan reciprocal access agreement takes effect on Sept. 11

Metro Manila, Philippines - The Philippines and Japan have formally completed the final step for the entry into force of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), with the accord set to take effect on Sept. 11.

In a ceremony at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya exchanged diplomatic notes “paving the way for the entry into force of the Philippines-Japan Reciprocal Access Agreement,” the DFA said.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. also attended the event.

The agreement, signed in Manila on July 8, 2024 during the Philippines-Japan Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting (2+2), “provides a legal and administrative framework for the entry and departure of the defense forces, vessels, aircraft and equipment of a party from the territory of the other party, for the purpose of training and conducting activities mutually agreed upon by the parties.”

According to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the RAA “establishes procedures between Japan and the Philippines for the cooperative activities conducted by defense forces of one country while visiting the other country and defines a status of the visiting force.”

It is expected to facilitate cooperative activities such as joint exercises and disaster relief, and “improve interoperability between the forces of the two countries.”

Japan’s MOFA also said that, “as the security environment in the region becomes increasingly severe, the entry into force of the Agreement with the Philippines… will further promote security and defense cooperation between the two countries, and firmly support peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”

The Philippine Senate concurred with the RAA’s ratification on December 16, 2024, while the House of Councillors of the Japanese Diet approved it on June 6, 2025.