Japan-Australia Summit in Tokyo on the 17th... "Suga's First Foreign Leader Visit Since Taking Office"

Japan Cabinet Office "Security and Defense Cooperation Discussions to Take Place"

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
Photo by AP Yonhap News

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison
Photo by EPA Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will hold a summit in Tokyo, Japan, on the 17th. This is the first visit by a foreign leader to Japan since Prime Minister Suga took office in September.

According to NHK and other sources on the 12th, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato announced at a regular briefing that Prime Minister Morrison will visit Japan from the 17th to 18th. Secretary Kato explained that the two leaders will discuss strengthening a special strategic partnership focusing on cooperation in political, security, and economic fields. He said, "I believe discussions on security and defense cooperation will naturally take place as well."

Prime Minister Morrison also held a separate press conference on the same day, stating, "Relations with Japan have been steadily strengthening recently, and we are closely cooperating in trade, security, and defense." He added that this visit to Japan aims to continue enhancing bilateral relations. NHK reported, "It is expected that discussions will also cover the resumption of exchanges between the two countries, which have been restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as economic cooperation."

Considering Australia's conflicts with China amid the COVID-19 crisis, it is anticipated that Australia will seek to strengthen economic ties with Japan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.