Japan and Ireland are important partners who share fundamental values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Ireland serves as a nonpermanent member of the U.N. Security Council from 2021 until the end of this year. As Japan will serve as a nonpermanent member of the council for two years from 2023, following Ireland’s term, I highly expect that Japan will continue to deepen its cooperation with Ireland to work behind the scenes at the U.N. and other international fora.
Japan, with the world’s third-largest economy, and Ireland, with its open and vibrant economy full of entrepreneurial spirit, have developed a complementary relationship. The EU-Japan economic partnership agreement has provided an important platform for the expansion of bilateral economic relations. In terms of investment, Japan was the top Asia-Pacific country in terms of accumulated foreign direct investment in Ireland in 2020 (€31.4 billion). Areas of active Japanese investment in Ireland include life sciences and financial services, including fintech.
In recent years, investment and partnerships in the renewable energy sector are also on the rise. I hope that our bilateral collaboration will deepen through economic initiatives to address issues such as pandemics, digitalization and decarbonization.
Japan and Ireland are also mutually interested in each other’s culture, which was a major element in the deepening of our bilateral relationship over the past 65 years. In Japan, there is a strong interest in Irish literature, and the Yeats Society of Japan has developed into a large organization. In Ireland there is a growing popularity of Japanese food, the Japanese language and traditional and contemporary Japanese culture.
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