Tokyo, Japan
October 30, 2017

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte received Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in a courtesy call at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo during his official visit to Japan.

During the hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings in August 2017, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono paid his initial courtesy call on President Duterte and discussed Japan-Philippines bilateral relations.

In a press statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan during the said meeting, Foreign Minister Kono expressed support in the Philippines’ fight against terrorism in Mindanao, and expressed to provide assistance on infrastructure development, measures against illegal drugs, public safety and counter-terrorism, as well as other matters concerning the Korean peninsula.

Joining the Foreign Minister were Deputy Director-General Fumio Shimizu of the Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department; Mr. Jun Nanazawa, Executive Assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs; Ms. Yukiko Okano, Director of Country Assistance Planning Division I; Mr. Shu Kawano, Senior Foreign Policy Coordinator; Mr. Daisuke Nihei, Principal Deputy Director, Second Southeast Asia Division; and Mr. Hirotaka Ono, Deputy Director, Second Southeast Asia Division.

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