Welcome to the Mission of Japan to ASEAN website. I am KIYA Masahiko, Ambassador of Japan to ASEAN. It has been two years since I took up my post at the end of November 2022. In the course of two years, I had the privilege of engaging in a series of events during the historic milestone of the “50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation” in 2023. In 2024, I focused on translating the shared vision of "Trust and Co-Creation" into action across various fields.
 
At the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit in December 2023, the Joint Vision Statement and the Implementation Plan were adopted. ASEAN and Japan, as "Trusted Partners," confirmed the strengthening of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) under the three key pillars:
(1) “Heart-to-Heart Partners across Generations”,
(2) “Partners for Co-creation of Economy and Society of the Future”, and
(3) “Partners for Peace and Stability”.
 
To operationalise them, Then Prime Minister KISHIDA announced the Actions for "Peace and Prosperity" through "Co-Creation" based on “Trust”. In the following year, our Mission classified 130 concrete items of cooperation outlined in the Implementation Plan into 44 main areas and launched a website in Japanese and English to provide updates on the status of initiatives in each area. Going forward, we will continue to cooperate not only within the government but also relevant companies and organizations, to expand networks and build platforms in respective areas, thus promoting project development and enhancing visibility of such cooperation.
 
In 2025, under Malaysia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN upholding the theme of "Inclusivity and Sustainability", the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 will be adopted, setting the direction for the next two decades. In addition, the East Asia Summit (EAS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Amidst the rapidly changing international situation and pressing global challenges, ASEAN plays ever more crucial roles as a hub in the Indo-Pacific region, advocating the “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)”.
 
ASEAN and Japan have, as outlined in the Fukuda Doctrine of 1977, built the “heart-to-heart” relationship of mutual trust over half a century. Building on such “trust,” ASEAN and Japan will “co-create” solutions to diverse social challenges that ASEAN faces, leveraging Japan’s technology and experience as a "leading problem-solving nation", in broad areas such as energy, environment and climate change, healthcare, social welfare, transportation, disaster management, science, technology and innovation, and digital, AI and cybersecurity. ASEAN plans to exhibit its pavilion at EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai.
 
Beyond the 50th anniversary, ASEAN and Japan have now evolved into "truly equal partners". While “consistency” is vital for our multifaceted exchange and cooperation that we have nurtured till today, Japan now needs to seriously learn from the vitality and diversity of ASEAN, which has become the epicentrum of growth in the world, and to make them Japan’s competitive edge toward the future. Through such “transformation” by mutual learning, Japan and ASEAN can contribute to peace and prosperity not only in our region but also in the world.
 
I would like to work with a wide range of stakeholders to take concrete actions so that 2025 will be a year to further promote the ASEAN-Japan vision of “trust and co-creation" through “consistency and transformation”. Thank you for your continued cooperation and support.
 
KIYA Masahiko
Ambassador of Japan to ASEAN
 

Date of birth
23 December 1964

Professional career

April 1987	Entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
July 1990	Third Secretary, Embassy of Japan in Nigeria
July 1992	Deputy Director, Defense Operations Division, Defense Policy Bureau, National Defense Agency
July 1994	Deputy Director, Second West European Division, European and Oceanian Affairs Bureau
July 1996	Deputy Director, Financial Affairs Division, Minister’s Secretariat
July 1998	Principal Deputy Director, Second International Economic Affairs Division, Economic Affairs Bureau
August 2000	First Secretary, Embassy of Japan in the United States
August 2003	First Secretary/Counsellor, Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh
April 2006	Director, International Peace Cooperation Division, Foreign Policy Bureau
August 2008	Director, United Nations Planning and Administration Division, Foreign Policy Bureau
August 2010	Director, Facilities Improvement Program Division, Local Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Defense
August 2012	Counsellor/Minister, Embassy of Japan in Belgium
March 2015	Ambassador of Japan to South Sudan
September 2017	Deputy Assistant Minister, African Affairs Department / Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau / International Cooperation Bureau
October 2017	(Concurrently) Ambassador for TICAD
April 2018	(Concurrently) Deputy Assistant Minister for Evidence-based Policymaking
September 2018	(Concurrently) Ambassador for NGOs
September 2019	Consul-General of Japan in Sydney, Australia
December 2022	Ambassador of the Mission of Japan to ASEAN

Education

March 1987	Bachelor of Laws, University of Tokyo
January 1990	M.Phil. in International Relations, University of Cambridge
June 1990	LL.M. in International Law, University of Cambridge

Publications
Why should we act for international cooperation?: Looking beyond humanitarian and national interest considerations, Nihon Hyoron Sha, 2019 (in Japanese)
Making Peace in South Sudan: “All - Japan” ’s global contribution, Chikuma Shobo, 2019 (in Japanese)
“Challenges of Japan’s Policy toward the United Nations – A Practitioner’s View”, United Nations Study Vol. 11, 2010 (in Japanese)