PH, Japan reaffirms strategic alliance

The Philippines and Japan reaffirmed their strategic partnership and continued cooperation in various industries, particularly maritime issues, trade, economy, and infrastructure development.
According to Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo, Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa agreed to deepen the PH-Japan cooperation on global and regional issues.
Hayashi was in Manila to attend the presidential inauguration on June 30 as Special Envoy of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He also paid a courtesy call on then Vice President-elect Sara Duterte.
During the inaugural Philippines-Japan Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo in April, Hayashi echoed Prime Minister Kishida’s words that the Philippines-Japan relations are currently in a “golden age.”
This means that the cooperation between both countries brought significant achievements in infrastructure cooperation, particularly the completion in less than five years of projects worth one trillion yen (approximately $7.962 billion) committed by Japan in 2017.