Public Relations Office, Government of Japan

Prime Minister's Diary

Japan-Italy Summit Meeting

On August 3, Prime Minister Abe held a summit meeting with H.E. Mr. Matteo Renzi, Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, at the Prime Minister’s Office.
In the summit’s opening remarks, Prime Minister Abe welcomed the visit to Japan by Prime Minister Renzi, who is a close friend of Prime Minister Abe, and congratulated him on the great success of the Milan Expo. Prime Minister Abe also noted that Japan would serve as the chair country of the G7 Summit next year and Italy would do so the year after that, and said that he intended to utilize this visit by Prime Minister Renzi and the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Italy next year as opportunities for deepening Japan-Italy relations in a broad range of fields.

In response, Prime Minister Renzi stated that he was happy to be able to realize this visit to Japan, the goal of which was to strengthen the bilateral relationship, and hoped to visit Japan again on occasions such as the G7 next year and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Furthermore, Prime Minister Renzi expressed gratitude for the attendance of Prime Minister Abe’s spouse to the Milan Expo, and he hoped Prime Minister Abe would also visit Italy.

The two leaders affirmed that they would coordinate and cooperate toward the success of the Ise-Shima Summit and the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Italy next year.

Statement by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
On August 14, Prime Minister Abe delivered a statement and held a press conference marking the seventieth anniversary of the end of the war. He said at the beginning of his address: “Politics must learn from history wisdom for the future. At this great juncture that marks the seventieth anniversary of the end of the war, I am of the belief that we must reflect upon the road to war, the path we have taken since it ended, and the era of the twentieth century. I think that based on the lessons drawn from such undertakings we must contemplate, and then lay out, the path Japan ought to take toward the future, and in the world. Politics, at the same time, must remain humble toward history. Political intentions, or diplomatic ones, should never be allowed to distort history. That is also my strong belief.”

Statement by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: http://japan.kantei.go.jp/97_abe/statement/201508/0814statement.html