2023 marks the 50th year of ASEAN-Japan friendship and cooperation. Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Katsuhiko Takahashi recently spoke about the Japan-Malaysia partnership:
“Economically, Malaysia and Japan have a very important relationship and there is a great deal of cooperation between our two countries. Both sides want this to continue and for us to become even stronger economic partners.”
Look East Policy
“Malaysia’s Look East Policy remains relevant today. Malaysia has achieved a great deal in recent years and the country’s connections to Japan continue to thrive.”
Facing challenges together
“Having developed its traditional manufacturing industry to strengthen its economy, Malaysia now faces many similar challenges to those found in Japan. We have identified economic growth, aging populations and disaster risk-reduction as areas where Malaysia and Japan can come together.”
Business cooperation
“The relationship between Japan and Malaysia is close in terms of business and people-to-people connections. There is a great deal of cooperation between our countries and both sides want this to continue.
“Economically, Malaysia and Japan have a very important relationship and investment continues. There are 1,600 Japanese companies in Malaysia and these businesses have created 340,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector alone. The Japan External Trade Organization conducted a study recently and found that 96% of Japanese companies wanted to continue their operations in Malaysia, which is very encouraging.”
Investments, projects drive growth
“Investments create local employment and have a significant impact on local communities. New Japanese investment into Malaysia continues and, following the pandemic, many Japanese companies in the retail industry entered the Malaysian market. We are seeing increased investments being made in nontraditional Japanese manufacturing industries.”
Malaysians love Japanese culture
“There is a firm appreciation for Japanese culture and trends here in Malaysia. Japanese culture is very popular and whenever we have events, they are always well-attended and provide people with an opportunity to come together, connect and enjoy themselves. The younger generation in particular likes the opportunity to share together and experience one another’s culture, likes and interests.
“As we continue our work here at the embassy, we want to make people aware of what we are doing and try to present the overall ‘bigger picture’ of what Japan is doing to contribute to Malaysia.”
