Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Call on Japan Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru in Tokyo, 25 August 2025

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong called on and was hosted to lunch by Japan Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru at the Prime Minister’s Office of Japan on 25 August 2025. They reaffirmed the deep and lasting friendship between Singapore and Japan, ahead of the 60^th anniversary of bilateral relations in 2026. Senior Minister Lee and Prime Minister Ishiba took stock of the strong and broad-based bilateral relationship that extended across political, economic, and people-to-people ties. Both leaders also discussed ways to strengthen mutual cooperation and expand collaboration in trade, security, as well as in the digital and green sectors.

Senior Minister Lee and Prime Minister Ishiba noted that Singapore is the country coordinator for ASEAN-Japan dialogue relations from 2024 to 2027, and reaffirmed efforts to work closely together in further strengthening relations between ASEAN and Japan. Senior Minister Lee also congratulated Japan on hosting an impressive World Expo 2025 Osaka.

Prime Minister Ishiba also presented the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun to Senior Minister Lee in a conferment ceremony. This is in recognition of Senior Minister Lee’s contributions to the development of relations between Singapore and Japan. During the ceremony, Senior Minister Lee reflected on the longstanding cooperation between Singapore and Japan, and hoped for both sides to further nurture and strengthen the partnership.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

25 AUGUST 2025