President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is now the Supreme Adviser to the Parliamentary Association the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC), meet in Tokyo, Japan on May 28, 2026. (PCO)
President Marcos met with former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, this time in Tokyo, to discuss deeper cooperation to advance regional energy resilience and energy transition initiatives under the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) framework.
Marcos and Kishida also held a meeting in Manila in April this year where they reaffirmed their commitment to deepen cooperation on energy security and accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
Kishida presently serves as Supreme Adviser to the Parliamentary Association of the AZEC.
During their meeting on Thursday, May 28, Marcos expressed readiness to work with Japan in realizing the objectives of the Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience (POWERR Asia) initiative, a $10-billion support package.
POWERR Asia initiative was launched by current Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae in April 2026 during an online meeting with Marcos and other leaders and representatives of AZEC Plus countries, namely Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Timor Leste, Bangladesh and the Republic of Korea.
It enables Japan to support efforts towards strengthening regional energy security across Asia.
The initiative is expected to provide assistance to the Philippines and other countries in the region through enhanced energy security measures such as energy procurement, stockpiling capacity, energy diversification, and investments in energy efficiency.
Marcos also highlighted the Philippines’ commitment to advancing greener and more sustainable energy pathways through continued collaboration with Japan on renewable energy development and emerging low-carbon technologies.
The Philippines, Marcos further said, is ready to co-chair the AZEC Leaders’ Summit with Takaichi in Manila in November 2026 in line with the country’s ASEAN chairmanship.