President Marcos is set to follow up on the business deals forged earlier this year in Japan during his second trip to Tokyo this week.

Marcos is expected to meet with Japanese business leaders on Dec. 18, the last day of his Tokyo trip, to check on the status of investment pledges and agreements signed in February 2023.

According to Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu, the President will hold a roundtable meeting for a status report on the pledges and agreements signed during the February visit and the signing of new business agreements.

"This is important because I remember during our last briefing one of the questions posed here was what happened to the pledges before right, so this will be an opportunity to see what the progress are," Espiritu said in a Palace briefing on Monday, Dec. 11.

Espiritu said it involves "many business deals" which are currently on different levels of progress and development l

"Let’s just wait for this meeting to finish for us to have something more definitive," he added.

Although Espiritu did not divulge the estimated amount of investment pledges the Philippines would secure during the business meeting, he said among the sectors included in the business deals with Japanese business leaders are the creative economy sector, Information Technology (IT), among others.

The Foreign Affairs official also said that the important portion of the meeting would be the assessment of the previous deals.

"I cannot yet divulge the details, ginagawa pa 'tong mga details na 'to (the details are still being made) because these were just added to the agenda of the President but suffice to say that there will be and they will be done during the business meetings," he said.

"The important portion of that business event would be the assessment of the progress of previous ones so that there will be more perception of the concrete outcomes of the previous agreement," he added.

Marcos will leave for Japan on Friday, Dec. 15, to participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Japan Commemorative Summit. He will be there until Dec. 18.

During his second visit to the foreign country this year, Marcos will have a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and will have an audience with the Japanese Emperor and Empress.

The Chief Executive will attend the main summit which will include a session that would discuss issues in the South China Sea, East China Sea, Myanmar, North Korea, and other international developments that have a bearing on ASEAN.

He will also be joining in sessions that will discuss people-to-people activities between ASEAN and Japan, which is deemed important for the Philippines as it is one of the major beneficiaries of youth and people to people exchange, especially the exchange of students.

Marcos is also expected to attend the Asia Zero Emissions Community, a separate regional organization composed of ASEAN, Japan, and Australia.

It is a community dedicated to lowering the emission of carbon gases into the atmosphere towards a supposedly zero net effect at the end.

The Philippines' participation in this discussion, Espiritu said, is important as the President will use the opportunity to lobby the country's bid to host the climate disaster fund board.

"This will run for only 45 minutes but the President will participate on this. This is important for us because as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, we are committed to the outcome of the COP28 meeting and this will also be an opportunity for us to request for support for our bid to host the Board of Loss and Damage Fund," Espiritu said.

During the summit, a joint vision statement of ASEAN and Japan is expected to be forged, including a document on its implementation plan.