Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 31) — Good-natured ribbing and self-deprecation marked the toasts at a dinner hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his home in Tokyo for President Rodrigo Duterte.
In his toast, Abe recounted the warm welcome he and his wife Akie Abe received from Duterte and his partner Honeylet Avanceña in Davao City last January. A viral photo taken by Presidential Assistant Bong Go showed Duterte, Abe, and an interpreter having breakfast in the President’s modest home in Matina.
“Literally, we have been like family in deepening our close ties over time and I am very pleased with such warm relationship,” Abe said in his toast, a copy of which was obtained early Tuesday.
“The video clip featuring my stay in Davao City we put on the Prime Minister’s Facebook account page actually marked over 100 — 1.3 million access counts, the greatest ever. I had to confess that 90 percent of those who actually saw this web page were all the Filipino people across the globe, so only the 10 percent account for those of us in Japan,” he quipped. “So I would like to encourage the Japanese to pay more attention to my Facebook account.”
In turn, Duterte thanked the Prime Minister and his wife “for hosting this evening’s reunion between friends.”
“I will skip two pages of my prepared speech and go to the last page because I am hungry,” the President said to laughter from the dinner guests.
The Philippines and Japan are celebrating 61 years of diplomatic relations.
PH-Japan: A friendship held dearly
“Suffice it to say that this frequency of interaction is friendship that goes beyond official lines,” said Duterte. “It is a friendship that is held dearly and valued so much more than words can describe.”
The President pledge to the Japanese leader to keep the friendship, amity and cooperation between them, their nations, and their peoples.
Duterte, 72, and Abe, 63, acknowledged atheir dmiration for each other. Duterte referred to Abe as “special friend who’s closer than a brother.” Abe had described as a “tremendous honor” that he was the first head of state to visit Duterte when he became President.
The two are leaders with strong mandates. Duterte won the presidential election over four other rivals in May 2016 with 16.5 million votes among a 54-million voter base. On October 22, Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party won the majority of parliament seats in a general election that analysts say ensures Abe’s leadership until 2021.
Related: Duterte’s first day in Japan reaps over P300 billion-worth of investments
Abe appreciated Duterte’s second official visit to Japan even as the administration is in the midst of final preparations to host the ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings in Manila and Clark, Pampanga in two weeks.
“I am here and also ready to offer my utmost support to President Duterte as a Chair of the ASEAN this year to bring all the summit meetings to a successful conclusion,” Abe said.
He also thanked the business, cultural, and political leaders who attended the dinner, attributing the success and warmth of Philippine-Japan ties to their cooperation.
“I owe you so much and your dedication is what made possible for us to enjoy today’s wonderful ties between Japan and the Philippines,” he said.
Over this two-day official visit which ends Tuesday, the Philippines secured some P309.8 billion (US$6 billion) in investments from Japan. This is on top of a previously pledged P456 billion (US$ 8.9 billion) announced earlier this year.
Related: Duterte’s first day in Japan reaps over P300 billion-worth of investments
Duterte said his “personal interest and excitement over this trip has not diminished” even if this was his second visit to Japan. The first was a year ago, a few months after he took office in July 2016.
And after toasts to the good health of the Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, Abe, and the “enduring camaraderie and harmony between the Philippines and Japan,” Duterte, who is not known to stick to his speeches, said, “I am going to change my writer. He is a book author not a speechwriter.”
