Prime Minister Marin meets with Japanese leaders in Tokyo
On Wednesday 11 May, Prime Minister Sanna Marin met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. The prime ministers discussed bilateral relations and the current security situation, especially Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its consequences, along with the security environment in Asia.
The prime ministers discussed the need to reform the UN Security Council to make it more representative, transparent and effective. The importance of nuclear disarmament was also highlighted. Other items on the agenda included gender equality issues, digitalisation and the green transition.
In Prime Minister Marin’s meeting with Hiroyuki Hosoda, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Japanese Parliament, the discussion focused on bilateral relations and the current situation with the war in Ukraine. Prime Minister Marin also shed light on Finland’s education system, social security and strong tradition of gender equality.
In connection with their meeting, the prime ministers signed an agreement on working holiday arrangements between Finland and Japan. The reciprocal agreement will give Finnish and Japanese nationals aged 18–30 the right to apply for a holiday in the partner country so that they will also have the right to work in the country to a limited extent in order to fund their travels. Next, the agreement will be submitted to Parliament.
On Thursday 12 May, Prime Minister Marin and the Finnish business delegation will also have a meeting with representatives of the Japan Business Confederation Keidanren. The aim is to strengthen relations between Finnish and Japanese businesses in fields such as science and technology.
A delegation of ten Finnish companies coordinated by Business Finland is taking part in the visit. It includes representatives from the following companies: CSC – IT Center for Science Ltd, Finnair Plc, 6G Flagship, Haltian Ltd, IQM Quantum Computers, Nokia Plc, ReOrbit Ltd, Academy of Finland, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd and WithSecure Corporation.
Prime Minister Marin will return to Finland on Friday 13 May.
Inquiries: Lauri Voionmaa, Special Adviser (International Affairs), tel. +358 295 160 306, Tuulia Pitkänen, Special Adviser (EU Affairs), tel. +358 295 160 231, Prime Minister’s Office; Satu Maaranen, Executive Director, Customer Management & Fast Growth, Business Finland (business delegation), tel. +358 40 592 0929; Olli Sorainen, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. + 358 295 048 022
Photos of the visit will be available in the Government Flickr account.