Japan PM Kishida vows to tackle global challenges with South America

SAO PAULO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged Saturday to work together with South American countries to tackle global challenges including climate change, economic disparity and poverty.

Kishida made the remarks in a speech in Sao Paulo on Japan's policies toward Latin America and the Caribbean as Tokyo seeks to deepen relations with emerging and developing nations, collectively referred to as the Global South.

With Brazil holding the presidency of the Group of 20 economies and Peru serving as the chair of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the Global South is "under the world spotlight" this year, Kishida said in the speech.

On Friday, Kishida held bilateral talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Paraguayan President Santiago Pena as part of his six-day tour that also took him to France. It was his first visit to South America since he took office in October 2021.

Kishida said Japan has decided to provide funds to a program aimed at preserving Brazil's Amazon rainforest, seen as the "lungs of the Earth," while helping Caribbean islands vulnerable to global warming to prepare for natural disasters.

On the economic front, Kishida criticized "debt trap" diplomacy, although he avoided singling out China. Beijing has been accused of drawing recipient countries into substantial debts, potentially allowing it to exert control over them.

Japan will continue to promote high-quality infrastructure and other sustainable economic cooperation projects by taking into consideration the conditions in recipient nations, while putting emphasis on the environment and human rights, Kishida said.

He noted that Japanese companies have set up more than 1,000 new offices in the Latin American region over the past 10 years.

As around 3.1 million people of Japanese descent live in teh region, his government will also introduce a people-to-people exchange program involving 1,000 individuals for the next three-year period, Kishida added.

Also on Saturday, Kishida met with a group of people who moved to Brazil from Japan after surviving the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 towards the end of World War II, including a 100-year-old man.

The gathering took place in Sao Paulo after Kishida pitched his vision of a world without nuclear weapons at the Group of Seven summit, which he hosted in May last year in his home constituency of Hiroshima, the world's first city to be struck by an atomic bomb.

Later Saturday, Kishida said at a press conference before concluding his trip, "Latin America is rich in natural resources, such as minerals, energy and food, while having a large young population. Many of its countries have great potential."

"On the other hand, it is also true that many nations face social issues such as inequality and poverty," Kishida said, adding Japan will offer "diverse and inclusive cooperation" tailored to each country, including those in Central and South America.