MANILA – Japan’s new ambassador to the Philippines, Koji Haneda, arrived in Manila on Saturday (October 14), pledging to make every effort to bolster the strategic partnership and friendly ties between the Philippines and Japan.
Haneda called himself a “Balikbayan” in a statement issued on his arrival, recalling that he had, in fact, “started my diplomatic career in Manila in the early 1980’s.”
The rest of his statement follows:
Under the strategic partnership, our bilateral relations have evolved to a significant level, as represented by the state visit of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress in January 2016 and other frequent mutual visits of our leaders. Through the years, our partnership has achieved tangible outcomes in many areas, including infrastructure projects on an unprecedented scale, capacity building in counter-terrorism and maritime security, defense cooperation, and continued commitment of support to the Mindanao peace process. I am also pleased to see ever-growing people-to-people exchange between the Philippines and Japan in every field and level.
Building upon the past achievements, I pledge to exert every effort to further advance the strategic partnership and the friendship between our two countries. Maraming salamat po.”
Haneda holds a B.A. degree from the Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo; and a masters degree from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
Before his Manila posting, Haneda was Japan’s representative for Free Trade and Economic Partnership Agreements Negotiations; Ambassador for International Economic Affairs; and Ambassador to Iran.
