The Prime Minister defined it as “the beginning of a beautiful friendship”. The first visit of a European leader to Sanae Takaichi coincides with the elevation of the Italian-Japanese bilateral relationship to a “special strategic partnership”
«Two distant nations, but ever closer. Friendship and harmony». Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote this on X, at the end of the bilateral meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichiall surrounded by a Japanese “anime” style photo of the two.
The Asian tour of the Italian Prime Minister continued today with the first official mission of a European leader to Japan after the inauguration of Sanae Takaichi, who shares with Meloni the double distinction of being the first female leader of the Land of the Rising Sun and the fact of belonging to the conservative camp.
The Press Conference: the words of the leaders
The official visit to Tokyo, on the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations, established a profound strategic convergence between Italy and Japan, elevating bilateral relations and defining a common operational agenda.
During the joint statements released to the press, Prime Minister Meloni expressed immediate affinity with her counterpart, underlining: «Sanae and I have only known each other for a short time, but a relationship based on a particular harmony was immediately established between us and I believe that this relationship is quickly a candidate to become a solid, even personal friendship».
Meloni also cited the Japanese concept of “Ganbaru” to describe the necessary approach: «“Ganbaru” doesn’t just mean doing your best, it means ‘do more than your best‘, that is, aiming to always overcome one’s limitsnever be satisfied with where you have reached.”
The Prime Minister then identified this spirit of perseverance as the right approach to lead the two nations towards a future of prosperity and security.
Prime Minister Takaichi, after renewing his happy birthday wishes to Meloni (which took place yesterday), expressed satisfaction with the visit, defining the relationship as a historic bond of friendship and collaboration.
The Japanese Prime Minister welcomed the announcement of Italian participation in GREEN×EXPO 2027 in Yokohama and wished success for the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
The Joint Declaration: the main themes
The meeting concluded with the adoption of a Joint Declaration which raised the level of bilateral relations and defined an operational agenda through the implementation of the three-year Action Plan 2024-2027.
The main themes covered reflect a shared vision of global challenges, from economic security to regional stability.
The Declaration commits the two countries to close collaboration in security and defensein particular with the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) for the joint development of the sixth generation fighter with the United Kingdom.
On the front of Economic Securitythe need to strengthen the resilience of global value chains, protecting strategic technologies and the supply of critical minerals, essential for the energy and digital transitions, was agreed.
There Advanced cooperation in science and technology is another pillar, with the intention of promoting collaboration in cutting-edge sectors such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, semiconductors and biomanufacturing.
Added to this is the strengthening of space cooperation, with the agreement for regular consultations between the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
In terms of Energy and Infrastructurethe declaration foresees cooperation on the Energy Transition, including gas security (MOC) and support for infrastructure projects.
Finally, on global issuesthe commitment to a just peace in Ukraine and stability in the Middle East was reaffirmed, instead condemning “North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and reaffirming the commitment to the complete denuclearization of Pyongyang.
The vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) was promoted, with strategic synergy between Mattei Plan Italian and the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) for a cooperation model beneficial to all.
Meloni: “A beautiful friendship can be born”
Before the conference, during the bilateral meeting, addressing the Japanese Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni she said “extremely proud to be hereextremely proud to have the opportunity to get to know her better personally, because I am convinced that a beautiful friendship can also arise from this beautiful cooperation“.
“That between Italy and Japan is a real cooperation”, continued Meloni, “after all, the word ‘cooperation’ in our language comes from Latin, ‘to work with’. In cooperation there is never an active subject and a passive subject. There is always something that arises from common work. Exactly what Italy and Japan do”.
