The Philippines is confident that its relations with Japan will remain strong despite the resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after two major election defeats.

“We don’t comment on Japan’s internal affairs,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Angelica Escalona said in a statement on Monday, Sept. 8.

“We are confident that our relations with Japan, especially our ‘Strengthened Strategic Partnership', will continue to deepen in the years to come,” she, however, pointed out.

Manila Bulletin sought comment from the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines, but it has yet to reply as of posting time.

The remarks came after Ishiba’s decision to step down from Japan’s top post, a move that preempted the expected vote by his own Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to force him out of the Prime Minister position.

Under Ishiba, the LDP—which has government the world’s fourth largest economy for the past 70 years—lost its majority in the lower house for the first time in 15 years and its majority in the upper house in July.

Since taking office in October 2024, Ishiba failed to inspire confidence in addressing key issues, such as the cost-of-living crisis and the latest tariff measures imposed by the United States.

The Philippines and Japan have been enjoying stronger ties as strategic partners, most notably in the exchange of diplomatic notes for the entry into force of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), which will allow the two countries’ armed forces to hold joint defense and security activities.

Japan has also stood by the Philippines as it counters China’s repeated aggressive actions in the South China Sea, with the former calling out Beijing for its non-adherence to international maritime laws.