Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 7) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are expected to visit each other’s country this year, according to Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa.
\”It is expected that by the end of this year, Prime Minister Kishida will visit the Philippines to forge even closer ties and lasting partnerships,\” the envoy said during the celebration of the 69th founding anniversary of the Japan Self-Defense Forces on Friday.
\”We are also looking forward to President Marcos Jr.’s participation in the upcoming celebration of the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship in Tokyo in December,\” he added.
Marcos and Kishida last met in February in Tokyo, where they agreed to bolster Philippine-Japan ties and ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
According to the Japanese ambassador, the partnership between the two countries has \”tremendously flourished, especially in the area of defense and security\” since Marcos took office last year.
\”With the swiftly changing tides in the global environment, the defense and security cooperation between Japan and the Philippines is becoming all the more significant. We are directing all our focus in generating concrete measures that would further deepen our defense partnership,\” Koshikawa said.
