Japanese Ambassador to ASEAN Kiya Masahiko (Photo: VNA)

Jakarta – Japanese Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Kiya Masahiko has described ASEAN as an important partner of Japan and Tokyo is committed to enhancing cooperation with the bloc.

In an interview granted to Indonesia's official news agency Antara, Ambassador Kiya said geopolitically, ASEAN is strategically positioned between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. In addition, ASEAN's population is 670 million people and its economy continues to grow. These are reasons that encourage Japan to maintain relations with ASEAN.

According to him, Japan was the first dialogue partner of ASEAN and held the first informal dialogue in 1973 before the formal dialogue in March 1977. This year marks their 50th anniversary of friendship and cooperation with a commemorative summit scheduled for December in Tokyo.

Kiya said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to contribute to and cooperate with ASEAN in several important areas such as maritime affairs, connectivity, infrastructure quality improvement, climate change response, disaster management, and cooperation in economic agenda such as supply chain recovery, digital technology, and food security.

Talking with Vietnam News Agency in Jakarta in early March, Ambassador Kiya said the values shared by ASEAN and Japan over the past five decades have been peace, trust, and mutual respect. This vision was demonstrated over 40 years ago when then-Prime Minister of Japan Fukuda Takeo visited ASEAN countries and gave an important foreign policy speech, now known as the "Fukuda Doctrine."

The doctrine emphasised that Japan would never become a military power threatening the region, would build "heart-to-heart" relationships with Southeast Asian countries, and actively cooperate with ASEAN and support its efforts as an equal partner. According to the diplomat, these are the basic practical values that have driven the Japan-ASEAN cooperative relationship over the past five decades.