House Speaker Martin Romualdez (right) meeting his Japanese counterpart, Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga (left) at the Tokyo parliamentary building (Speaker's Office)

House Speaker Martin Romualdez said on Monday, June 18, that the bilateral relations between the Philippines and Japan were at an “all-time high”, particularly on defense and economic ties.

Romualdez issued this message during a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga, at the Tokyo parliamentary building in Japan, where both committed to support their governments’ efforts to sustain and enhance both countries’ relations.

“Our countries have continually engaged with each other since last year, a clear indication of the firm commitment of both our countries to our decades-long cooperation,” he said.

Romualdez, leader of the 300-plus strong House of Representatives, said Japan has proven to be a reliable and dependable partner for the Philippines.

The Speaker particularly expressed deep appreciation to Japan for “securing, nurturing, and accepting over 300,000 Filipinos” who are residing there.

He also lauded Japan for its provision of official development assistance (ODA) that boosted the Philippine economy “in many aspects,” as well as for its maritime security initiatives that fostered “significant progress and stability in the region”.

“You have also helped us in time of disaster, calamities, and we would also like to thank you for the support from the JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), that continues to bring our economy to fruition,” said Romualdez.

“We thank Japan government and the people of Japan for all the support and the assistance through the ODA,” he added.

Speaker Romualdez noted that the shared universal rights between the two countries—which include freedom, democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and a free and open economy—ultimately underpins their strategic partnership.

In response, Speaker Nukaga thanked Romualdez for recognizing the assistance extended by the Japanese government.

“Thank you very much for mentioning the wide range of good things. I’m very glad that Japan and the Philippines have built very good bilateral relations,” Nukaga said.

Since elevating their relations to the level of strategic partnership in 2011, the Philippines and Japan have expanded their cooperation beyond traditional areas such as politics, defense, and economics.

The partnership between the two nations covers maritime cooperation, the peace process, and people-to-people exchanges, including tourism.

“We have managed to expand our relations to encompass various sectors. These efforts have significantly contributed to strengthening our strategic partnership,” noted Romualdez.