A banquet was hosted byPrime Minister Kishidaand Mrs. KISHIDA Yuko
on the first day of theCommemorative Summit
for the 50th Year ofASEAN-Japan Friendshipand Cooperation.

Left: Leaders pose for a commemorative
photo at the Commemorative Summit
for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan
Friendship and Cooperation.
Top: Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio
attending the Commemorative Summit
for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan
Friendship and Cooperation.

:TRUSTEDPARTNERSTHE OUTCOME OF THE COMMEMORATIVESUMMIT FOR THE 50TH YEAR OF ASEAN-JAPANFRIENDSHIP AND COOPERATIONIn December 2023, the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation
was held in Tokyo. The Joint Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation and its Implementation
Plan were adopted as its outcome documents.
To mark the 50th anniversaryof friendly and cooperative
relations between Japan and
the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), theCommemorative Summit for
the 50th Year of ASEAN-JapanFriendship and Cooperation washeld in Tokyo on December 17,
2023. Several related events took
place during the three days aroundthe Summit, including bilateralsummit meetings with the leadersof countries participating in thecommemorative summit, theCommemorative Ceremony forthe 50th Year of ASEAN-JapanFriendship and Cooperation,and the first Asia Zero Emission
Community (AZEC) Leaders
Meeting.
A notable outcome of thecommemorative summit was
the “Joint Vision Statement

on ASEAN-Japan Friendshipand Cooperation.” Subtitled“Trusted Partners,” the statement
declares, “Building on mutual
trust, ASEAN and Japan will
strengthen the Comprehensive
Strategic Partnership that ismeaningful, substantive, andmutually beneficial under threepillars, embracing ASEAN unityand centrality.” The three pillars
are titled “Heart-to-heart partners

across generations,” “Partners
for co-creation of economy
and society of the future,” and“Partners for peace and stability.”
Prime Minister KISHIDA
Fumio announced three concretemeasures for peace and prosperity
throughco-creation
based
on trust to take the ASEANJapan relations to new heights
for the next 50 years under thethree pillars mentioned above.
First, to pass on the “heart-toheart” relationship to the next
generation, a new project called“Partnership to Co-create aFuture with the Next Generation:
WA Project 2.0” will be launched.
The project will consist of aseries of comprehensive peopleto-people exchange programs
that will benefit more than 10
million people over the next
decade. Further opportunities
will also be presented for
networking among members of
the younger generation throughthe establishment of the Young/
Generation Z Business Leaders’Community for talent exchange
and ecosystem collaboration
among startups.
In terms of the co-creationof the economy and society of

the future, efforts will be madetoward enhancing public-private
partnerships with a focus on thestrengthening of connectivity,
climatechange
measures(including realization of theAZEC concept), and support
for small and medium-sizedenterprises and startups. Also
announced at the summit was thelaunch of the “ASEAN-Japan CoCreation Initiative for the NextGeneration Automotive Industry,”
set up to jointly formulate andimplement strategies for ASEAN
to continue to be the world’s
leading automotive productionand export hub.
As partners for peace andstability, Japan and ASEAN
also aim to jointly create peace
and prosperity in the IndoPacific region and a worldin which human dignity isprotected. Specifically, they willtake such actions as supportfor the development of humanresources in cybersecurity at theASEAN-Japan
Cybersecurity
Capacity Building Centre andhumanitarian assistance for thepeople of Myanmar through theASEAN Coordinating Centrefor Humanitarian Assistance on

disaster management.
Japan and ASEAN can discuss
co-creation of the future based on
the friendship and cooperationthat has been nurtured between
them for half a century. In thewords of the catchphrase for the50th anniversary of friendshipand cooperation, the three daysof the Summit truly were “GoldenOpportunities” to pass on“Golden Friendship” to the nextgeneration.

Tokyo Tower was lit up in ASEAN colors tocommemorate the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan
Friendship and Cooperation. SANKEI