Past messages
2024/1/24
24 January 2024
Welcome to the Mission of Japan to ASEAN website. I am KIYA Masahiko, Ambassador of Japan to ASEAN. Just after the start of my assignment at the end of November 2022, the year 2023 came as a historic milestone to celebrate “The 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation”. It commenced with the Commemorative Symposium in Jakarta in February, followed by 13 ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Meetings in various places across ASEAN and Japan throughout the year. In December, the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit in Tokyo was held, and the Joint Vision Statement and the Implementation Plan was adopted, showing the direction of ASEAN-Japan cooperation for the future.
The Joint Vision Statement defined ASEAN and Japan as "Trusted Partners". Our vision is for a world where the shared principles and values are ensured, and where all countries can pursue peace and prosperity and uphold the principles of democracy, the rule of law and good governance, and respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. To realise this, ASEAN and Japan committed themselves to strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) under the three pillars: “Heart-to-Heart Partners across Generations”, “Partners for Co-creation of Economy and Society of the Future” and “Partners for Peace and Stability”. In the Implementation Plan, 130 concrete items of cooperation were agreed upon in line with the three pillars. Prime Minister KISHIDA announced the Actions for "Peace and Prosperity" through "Co-Creation" based on "Trust" to implement this plan.
The year 2024 marks the beginning of the next 50 years. ASEAN is important to Japan in four significant ways. First, ASEAN is located in the area of strategic and geopolitical importance for the Indo-Pacific region and is key to realising a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)”, which Japan espouses. Secondly, ASEAN is the centre of global growth. It is a prominent manufacturing base for Japanese companies, a promising consumer market with a population of 670 million, and an arena to address emerging global challenges such as de-carbonization and digitalisation. Thirdly, ASEAN is a hub of multi-layered regional cooperation. ASEAN-led regional cooperation mechanisms have developed over the years, and the Summit and Ministerial Meetings across sectors have been regularized and institutionalized. Lastly, ASEAN is important for Japan to strengthen its relations with the so-called Global South. ASEAN, which is close at hand and rich in diversity, will serve as a gateway for Japan.
Japan will make continuous efforts to promote exchange and cooperation with ASEAN, valuing the "heart-to-heart relationship of mutual trust" expressed in the 1977 Fukuda Doctrine. Building on this capital of “trust,” our way forward is to “co-create” solutions to address global and social challenges, such as energy transition, climate change, environmental issues, digitalisation, health, and disaster management, making full use of Japan's technology and experience. The outcomes of such cooperation have an immense potential for scaling up from the Indo-Pacific to the world. They promote not only solutions but also confidence building, which contributes to regional and global peace and prosperity. An equally important goal for Japan and ASEAN is to learn from each other and transform ourselves in order to realise a fair, safe and prosperous multicultural society through deepening multi-layered exchange and cooperation.
I would like to work with you all to make this year a new starting point to promote “trust” and “co-creation” in each and every field. Thank you for your cooperation and support.
KIYA Masahiko
Ambassador of Japan to ASEAN
1 December 2022
My name is KIYA Masahiko, Ambassador of the Mission of Japan to ASEAN. I have assumed my duty as Ambassador today. I am pleased to work here in Jakarta.
This is my first posting to a Southeast Asian country, but I have been working with ASEAN Member States in various fields such as security, peacebuilding, economy, energy, development cooperation, and global health in Japan as well as in other countries in the world. Making most of such backgrounds, I would like to make my utmost efforts to enhance ASEAN-Japan relations, given the growing importance of ASEAN in the international community. In particular, next year is the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation. I am greatly honoured to work in the Mission of Japan to ASEAN at this important juncture.
ASEAN has contributed to the development of the region based on the principles of unity and centrality while embracing its diversity. The ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) adopted in 2019 shares fundamental principles with Japan’s concept of Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). Japan has extended its unwavering support for these principles, and has been a longstanding friend of ASEAN and ‘heart-to-heart’ partner.
Japan is currently implementing as many as 89 AOIP cooperation projects in line with the four priority areas; namely, maritime cooperation, connectivity, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and economic and other possible areas of cooperation. In addition, Japan has been supporting countermeasures against the COVID-19 pandemic as well as recovery from the pandemic by providing vaccines, medical equipment, financial support loans, and support for the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED). In the field of socio-culture, Japan has been promoting people-to-people exchange and sports-cultural exchange under the JENESYS programmes and the WA Project. Face-to-face events have already resumed some of the events had already restarted offline towards the post-pandemic era.
Next year, we will celebrate not only the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, but also the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Japan-Cambodia diplomatic relations, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Viet Nam, and the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Japan and Indonesia. Various commemorative events will be held in Japan and ASEAN Member States, culminating in the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit to be held in Tokyo in December 2023.
The official catchphrase of the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation is “Golden Friendship, Golden Opportunity.” Making the most of this Golden Jubilee of ASEAN-Japan relations, I would like to do my utmost to elevate ASEAN-Japan relationship to a new stage, making our friendship, opportunities, and our future even greater and brighter. I look forward to meeting all those who lean the further development of ASEAN-Japan cooperation in various fields.
Ambassador of the Mission of Japan to ASEAN
KIYA Masahiko