Transcript of Remarks by Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim at the 19th Japan-Singapore Symposium Public Forum, Conrad Marina Bay, Singapore, 11 September 2026

Parliamentary Vice-Minister Onishi Yohei,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honoured to wrap up the successful nineteenth edition of the Japan-Singapore Symposium (JSS). I thank Onishi-san for gracing this occasion. It is also a pleasure to see Professor Tommy Koh, who was Singapore’s founding JSS co-chair, join us today. Thank you, Professor Tommy!

Over the years, cooperation between Singapore and Japan has grown from strength to strength. 2026 is particularly special, as we celebrate sixty years of diplomatic relations. I am glad that delegates and participants from our two countries have gathered in this milestone year for wide-ranging and important conversations about the future of the Japan-Singapore partnership.

Broad-based exchanges like the JSS play an important role in enabling partnerships. Let me share one example. In early 2000, a Japan-Singapore joint study group was formed to study the feasibility of a free trade agreement between our two countries. The group comprised academics, business leaders, and officials, some of whom had participated in the JSS. They recommended that both governments commence negotiations for the Japan-Singapore New Age Economic Partnership (JSEPA), which in 2002 became Japan’s first-ever bilateral economic agreement and Singapore’s second Free Trade Agreement. Today, the JSEPA is one of the success stories that underpin our substantive economic ties. 

When the JSS was conceived in 1994, the questions confronting our two countries were very different. Back then, the Cold War had just ended. Trade barriers were being dismantled as the world embraced globalisation. Both Singapore and Japan benefitted from the growing global economic integration.

Thirty years on, the tides of history are flowing in other directions. The rules-based international order is under pressure. Global trade is fragmenting. Economic security has gained greater salience. These developments have significant implications for countries like Singapore and Japan, which have depended on openness and the rules-based global order to thrive and – in Singapore’s case – survive.

The theme for this year’s JSS, “Partnering for Resilience”, is therefore timely. The central question from the discussions over the past two days is simple: can Singapore and Japan continue to count on one another as we navigate an uncertain future? My answer is a resounding yes.

The Singapore-Japan relationship has evolved across the past six decades. In our early days, Japanese companies like Sony, Panasonic, Sumitomo and Hitachi made major investments here, bringing jobs, technology, and expertise. By the late 1970s, Japan had become Singapore’s largest foreign investor and trading partner.  This contributed to Singapore’s economic transformation, and deepened Japan’s ties with the region. Our economic cooperation continues to flourish today. In 2024, Japan was Singapore’s fourth-largest foreign investor, and Singapore was Japan’s third-largest foreign investor by FDI stock. Singapore is also Japan’s second-largest digital trade partner.

Our cooperation began with Singapore receiving support from Japan, and it has since grown into a multi-faceted partnership. As our relationship matured, we established a vibrant network of platforms. Besides government-to-government policy dialogues, we established regional mechanisms to enhance people-to-people exchanges. We jointly share our development experience with others under the Japan-Singapore Partnership for the 21^st Century. For our younger friends, we have the Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Programme and the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths. At the World Trade Organization (WTO), Singapore and Japan, alongside Australia, were at the forefront in securing a pathway towards implementing the world’s first baseline rules on e-commerce for 67 WTO members covering around 70% of global trade.

Undergirding our relationship is a common strategic outlook and mutual trust. We believe in upholding international law, free and open trade, and an open and inclusive regional architecture. Our peoples enjoy mutual respect and affinity for each other. Last year, almost 730,000 Singapore residents travelled to Japan – for a city-state of six million, this is quite remarkable. In turn, almost 630,000 Japanese visitors came to Singapore in 2025 – a 10 per cent increase from the year before.

It is upon this solid foundation that we are further enhancing ties. In March this year, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae launched the Singapore-Japan Strategic Partnership. This framework will deepen our cooperation in forward-looking areas and tackle critical issues of our time. I would like to highlight two areas that are in line with today’s theme.

First, economic resilience, which has become ever more important in the face of uncertainty and supply chain disruptions. Singapore and Japan are well-placed to work together, given our deep investment and trade links, mutual trust, and joint participation in multilateral trade arrangements like the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Second, energy resilience. We need to continue diversifying our energy sources and advancing the green transition. Singapore and Japan have set up mechanisms such as the Energy, Sustainability and Climate Change Cooperation Framework to facilitate the development of low-carbon technologies, pathways, and energy projects. We can work together to strengthen regional energy resilience, including through the ASEAN Power Grid and Japan’s POWERR Asia initiative. As Singapore prepares to chair ASEAN in 2027, we look forward to continuing our partnership with Japan to promote regional peace and prosperity.

As I conclude, I would like to thank all the delegates and participants again for taking time to join the JSS, and for your insights and contributions. By bringing together leaders from different walks of life – including parliament, business, media, academia, education, and government – I am confident that the JSS will continue to foster mutual understanding, catalyse new ideas, and help us break new ground. 

Singapore-Japan cooperation has been driven by a strong orientation towards the future. This is embodied in our SJ60 slogan, “Co-imagine, Co-create, Co-evolve” or, in Japanese, “Kyosho, Kyodo, Kyoshin” (Kyor - shor, Kyor - door, Kyor - sheen). May this spirit continue to guide our Strategic Partnership as we chart our next chapter together. Thank you.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

11 SEPTEMBER 2026