TOKYO: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob held a meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida to discuss efforts to boost the cordial Malaysia-Japan relations at the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office.

       This is the first bilateral meeting between Ismail Sabri and Kishida since leading their respective governments in 2021.

       Prior to yesterday’s meeting, Ismail Sabri and Kishida held a Japan-Malaysia conference and spoke to each other in a phone call on April 20 on matters relating to regional and international issues.

       This is also the first time Kishida is playing host to the Prime Minister of Malaysia since taking the post as Japan Prime Minister in October last year.

       According to Bernama, the meeting was in conjunction with the official working visit of Ismail Sabri to Japan, where he would also participate in the 27th International Conference on the Future of Asia, an annual gathering of political, economic and industry leaders from the Asia-Pacific region.

       Ismail Sabri, who is on his first official working visit to Japan since holding the post of prime minister last August, will also meet Japanese business and corporate figures on attracting investments to Malaysia.

       This year is also the 40th anniversary of the Look East Policy, which has contributed to the strengthening of bilateral relations between Malaysia and Japan.