Prime Minister Orpo meets with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba in Tokyo

Prime Minister Orpo meets with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba in Tokyo

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Prime Minister of Japan Shigeru Ishiba met in Tokyo on Tuesday 10 December. Their talks focused on bilateral political, trade and economic relations between the countries. They also discussed a variety of topical international issues. The prime ministers addressed the situation in Ukraine and the need for support, and shared their serious concerns about increased military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.

Bilateral relations between Finland and Japan are excellent. The Joint Statement on a Strategic Partnership adopted at the level of Heads of State or Government in 2016 covers political, commercial, social, Arctic and multilateral issues.

"I am pleased with our decision to renew our strategic partnership next year. The world has changed a lot in recent years, and it is important for our partnership to reflect the current geopolitical situation, our common priorities and our will to expand cooperation into new areas," says Prime Minister Orpo.

The prime ministers stressed the importance of deepening cooperation especially in the fields of advanced technology and defence. Positive developments in this area include an agreement on defence materiel and technology cooperation, for which negotiations are about to begin. Japan is also interested in Finland's civil defence solutions and comprehensive security model.

Prime Minister Orpo noted that there is great potential for cooperation in many areas.

"Japan is one of Finland's most important trading partners in Asia, and our cooperation has expanded into several key sectors. Finland has a lot to offer in areas such as cutting-edge technologies, safe and secure connections, the clean transition and defence. Cooperation in these fields benefits both Finland and Japan, and also has a positive impact globally."

Prime Minister Orpo spoke earlier on Tuesday at a seminar on the clean and digital transition, which was organised for the visiting Finnish business delegation and companies based in Japan.

"Japan has adopted the circular economy as a national strategy. This is well in line with the strategy of the Finnish Government. Our aim is for the circular economy to be the new foundation of the economy by 2035. Through the Circular Economy Programme, the Government wants to strengthen Finland's position as a world leader in circular economy."

The Prime Minister's programme on Tuesday also included a meeting with representatives of the Japan Business Confederation Keidanren. The meeting was hosted by Keidanren Vice Chair Toshiaki Higashihara. Keidanren is Japan's most important business federation, with over 1,500 member companies.

Orpo and the Finnish business representatives also visited Fujitsu, one of the world's leading IT service and technology providers, which employs more than 1,500 people in Finland.

From Tokyo, Prime Minister will continue to Kyoto and Osaka on Wednesday. The purpose of the visit is to deepen cooperation between Finland and Japan, to discuss the current foreign and security policy situation and to strengthen contacts between Finnish and Japanese businesses. The Prime Minister is travelling with a delegation of 15 companies and organisations put together by Business Finland.

Inquiries: Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister, tel. +358 295 160 978 and Päivi Paasikoski, Director of Government Communications, tel. +358 40 547 6279, Prime Minister's Office; Juha Niemi, Deputy Director General, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 295 350 232; and Suvi Sundquist, Director (North East Asia), Business Finland (business delegation), tel. +81 70 1051 0700 (+7h), firstname.lastname(at)businessfinland.fi

The addresses of the Finnish Government are in the format [email protected].

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