Japan is set to deepen its partnership with Asean under newly elected prime minister Sanae Takaichi, with Asean now formally endorsing the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) as a shared framework for regional cooperation.
Japanese foreign ministry press secretary Toshihiro Kitamura said the renewed momentum reflects not only a decade of consistent diplomacy, but also Japan’s belief in co-creating regional architecture with Asean on equal footing.
“Of course, Japan is a major power, but not a superpower like the US or China. Because of that, we are ready to work with Asean at the same level,” Kitamura told FMT.
He said Japan’s approach to official development assistance and broader collaboration where it has an advantage is “not to give fish but to teach how to fish”.
Japan is…