Japan underlines strengthening ties with Latin American partners

Asuncion, May 5 (EFE).- Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi concluded his “fruitful” tour of Latin America, with visits to countries that Tokyo considers partners and with which it shares values and principles, a spokesperson for the Asian country’s foreign ministry said Friday.

Yukiko Okano, deputy press secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, said in a meeting with reporters in Asuncion that they believed they had reinforced existing ties between Japan and all the countries Hayashi had visited.

Okano said the Japanese diplomatic chief held “fruitful” meetings with representatives of Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Peru, Chile and Paraguay, countries with which he seeks to strengthen economic relations.

The Japanese foreign minister’s tour to Latin America is his second one this year to this part of the world. His previous tour included visits to Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina.

These visits are a part of the Japanese government’s attempt to boost cooperation with the so-called “Global South,” especially in a year in which Tokyo occupies the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven (G7) most developed countries.

Japan regards many of these countries included in Hayashi’s tour as “partners” and which, like Tokyo, have strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukraine war is expected to be one of the central issues on the agenda of the G7 this year, to be held around the end of May in the Japanese city of Hiroshima

The G7 leaders aspire to send a unified message of support to Kyiv and in favor of maintaining and intensifying pressure on Russia, and Japan seeks to add international support to this position among Latin American countries. EFE

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