(Photo from PCO)
MANILA — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. received the credentials of newly appointed Japanese Ambassador Kitagawa Katsuro during a ceremony at Malacañang on Thursday.
Following the presentation of credentials, Marcos and Kitagawa held a brief meeting where they discussed the strong and growing ties between the Philippines and Japan.
Kitagawa has held several senior posts at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Director-General of the European Affairs Bureau and Director-General of the Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department. He also served in Japanese diplomatic missions in France and South Korea.
During the meeting, Kitagawa pledged to help further strengthen the Philippines-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, particularly in security, economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.
“I shall exert every possible effort to further deepen our strategic partnership through the steady progress of cooperation in a wide range of areas such as security, economy, and people-to-people exchange,” Kitagawa said.
Marcos, meanwhile, highlighted the longstanding friendship between the two countries and said bilateral relations have reached an unprecedented level.
“The decades-long friendship between our two countries has reached a level never before seen in the history of our vibrant and dynamic relations. We hope to continue to foster this partnership for the benefit of both our countries and our peoples,” Marcos said.
The Philippines and Japan are marking seven decades of diplomatic relations this year, along with the elevation of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Japan was the Philippines’ second-largest trading partner in 2025, with total trade valued at $22.2 billion. It also remained the country’s largest source of Official Development Assistance, with loan and grant commitments totaling about $13.959 billion as of December 2025.
As of June 2026, the two countries had forged more than 300 bilateral agreements covering trade and investment, defense equipment and technology, infrastructure, and development initiatives in Mindanao.
