Aquino arrives in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday on a journey of friendship, trade, economic and bilateral ties
TOKYO, Japan: President Benigno S. Aquino III arrives here Sunday afternoon to further cement the country's existing friendship, economic and bilateral relations with the Japanese government during his four-day official working visit from September 25 to 28.
The Chief Executive, who will be accompanied by members of his economic team led by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and a powerhouse of Philippine business delegation (numbering over a hundred), arrives at the Haneda Airport on board a Philippine Airlines Flight PR001 from Manila.
Shortly after simple arrival ceremonies at the airport, the Chief Executive will immediately proceed to meet with the Filipino community at the Japan Education Center's Auditorium.
In a prepared program for the occasion, President Aquino will be welcomed by Philippine Ambassador to Japan Ambassador Manuel Lopez. There will also be an audio visual presentation on the Philippine Embassy-Filipino Community Assistance to the victims of in the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. This will be followed by a cultural dance presentation by the Filipino-Japanese children. After the presentation, three boys and three girls will present to President Aquino the Box of Tanzaku (box of wishes and dreams). Then the President will deliver his message for the Filipino community in Japan.
The President is expected to apprise the Filipinos working in Japan about new positive developments and transformation of the Philippines and to thank them for their hard work particularly on their contributions to the country's economic progress.
According to the Philippine Embassy here, there are an estimated 250,000 Filipino overseas workers in various parts of Japan and 30,614 of which are in Tokyo.
He is also set to make a trip to the Tohoku Region particularly the Sendai City, Ishinomaki and the Kadonawaki coastal area which were heavily affected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Ishinomaki is a city located in the Miyagi Prefecture in Japan.
As he sets foot at the Sendai station, the President will be welcomed by its officials. He will then proceed to the Ishinomaki City Hall where the Ishinomaki mayor will pay a courtesy call on him.
The President then will separately visit the Kadonawaki Junior High School Evacuation Center and the nearby Ishinomaki Catholic Church Kindergarten Building where he will also meet with the Filipino community and deliver a brief message. (PCOO)
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Aquino to pitch for more investments from Japan
TOKYO, Japan – Determined on improving the lives of millions of Filipinos back home, President Benigno S. Aquino III will pitch for more investments from key Japanese businessmen to infuse their capital in the Philippines particularly in his administration’s Public-Private Partnership infrastructure program when he arrives here on Sunday for a four-day official working visit.
The Chief Executive will be accompanied by his Cabinet economic team headed by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and over a hundred Filipino business executives who will likewise assist him in luring Japanese investors to invest in the Philippines.
The President is expected to make the pitch when he delivers his speech at the Philippine Economic Forum before Japanese business leaders on the topic "Socioeconomic Forum in the Philippines."
Aside from this, the President is expected to brief big Japanese business organizations on the economic development and vital economic reforms that he had instituted, including his policies on good governance, since he assumed office in June 2010, when he will personally meet with them separately during the course of his visit. All these business meetings will take place at the Imperial Hotel where he is billeted.
Among these organizations that President Aquino is expected to meet are the top brass of the Terumo Corporation, the Marubeni Corporation, the Toyota Motor Corporation, the "Pocket Mon," the Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd., the Ichijo Co. Ltd., and the Mitsui and Co. Ltd..
The President is going to echo the same pitch that the Philippines is now open for business when he attends the roundtable discussion with officials and members of the Japan Philippines Economic Cooperation Committee (JPECC) and during the luncheon hosted by the Japan and Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the JPECC at the 11th and 12th Floor of the Tokyo, Kaikan respectively.
For several decades, Japan has been the second largest trading partner of the Philippines. Since 2010, Japan ranked as the No. 1 export market and import source of the country, which makes Japan the No. 1 trading partner of the Philippines with total trade in 2010 amounting to US$14.5 billion. (PCOO)
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Aquino leaves for official working visit to Japan
President Benigno S.Aquino III left Sunday morning for a four-day working visit to Japan which will focus on strengthening the diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries and share the ‘good news’ that has been happening in the Philippines under his leadership.
The President, joined by a lean delegation, embarked on Philippine Airlines chartered flight PR 001 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City. The group left for Tokyo at nine in the morning.
In his brief message prior to their departure, President Aquino said he will share with the world the reforms that the government has been and continuously implementing to push for sustainable progress and development that will result to better living standards for the Filipino people.
“Ito po ang layunin ng pagbisita natin: ang maitanglaw sa mundo ang bagong liwanag ng pagbabagong tinatamasa ng bansa natin ngayon,” President Aquino said.
“Ang maipakilala ang isang Pilipinas na diretso nang tumatawid sa landas ng mabuting pamamahala; isang Pilipinas na mas bukas, mas maaliwalas, at mas patas nang lugar sa pagnenegosyo; isang Pilipinas na handang makipagbayanihan sa ibang bansa tungo sa isang mas maunlad na kinabukasan,” he added.
The Chief Executive will be dealing with a busy schedule during the visit, that includes a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
“Nakatakda tayong makipagpulong sa kagalang-galang na Punong Ministro ng Japan na si Yoshihiko Noda upang patatagin ang ugnayan ng ating dalawang bansa, at balangkasin ang direksiyon ng ating patuloy na pagtutulungan tungo sa kaunlaran ng ating mga lipunan,” the President said.
“Nananabik po tayo sa mga magaganap na talakayan, sa magiging palitan ng mga ideya, at umaasa po tayong magbubunga ito ng ilang mga kasunduan at paglalagda,” he added.
The President also said that he will convey the Philippines' sympathies with the Japanese people for their loss from the March 11 quake and tsunami.
In Tokyo, Aquino is set to meet with members of the Filipino community shortly after his arrival at the Haneda Airport to jump-start his four-day official working visit.
Several meetings with the Japanese business groups are also in line to seek for more investments in the country.
Included in the Presidential Delegation are Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio “Sonny” B. Coloma, Jr.
Some members of the Cabinet were present as part of the send-off party led by Vice President Jejomar Binay, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Secretary Teresita Deles, Commission on Higher Education Secretary Patricia Licuanan, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman FrancisTolentino, Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.
Also in attendance were other government officials that include Senator Franklin Drilon and Armed Forces of the Philippines officials led by Chief of Staff General Eduardo Oban Jr., and Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Ramon Liwag.
The President is expected to arrive in Japan at 2 p.m. today. (PCOO)
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Phl envoy to Japan underscores role of the country in the ongoing reconstruction of Japan
Tokyo, JAPAN: In a gesture of solidarity, the Philippine government will play a role in the ongoing reconstruction of Ishinomaki City Hall through a donation that will be turned over by no less than President Benigno S. Aquino III to its city mayor when he visits the Miyagi Prefecture on Monday, Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez said.
Ishinomaki City is among the areas that were severely devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami off the Pacific coast of Tohoku region in the eastern part of Japan where there are also quite a number of Filipinos residing there, Lopez said in an interview.
“I think it is only fitting that the Philippines play a role in the reconstruction of that area," Lopez stressed said.
According to Lopez, The President will be giving a donation to the Mayor of Ishinomaki for the reconstruction of their city hall that was devastated during the tsunami.
“So makikibagay tayo with the local community and at the same time I think, the President, magpapasalamat din siya to the local officials for taking care of our nationals who were affected by both the earthquake and the tsunami,” he added.
Lopez said the President also recommended that some of the assistance that the Philippines managed to extend Ishinomaki City earlier, like the doctors, be kept to further aid our citizens until their complete recovery from the trauma brought by the tragedy.
“Talagang kailangan na kailangan nila and since marami tayong mga kababayan doon, nakakatulong na rin sila hindi lang doon sa ating mga nationals kundi pati na rin sa mga Japanese na nangangailangan din ng tulong ng mga psychologists natin,” Lopez said.
Apart from medical support, the Philippine government has extended other forms of assistance to Ishinomaki City right after the quake, like relief goods that include bottled water, blankets and other items for those who were displaced.
Lopez described the relationship between Japan and the Philippines as “a very special” one, adding that “it is probably at its best right now” since Japan is the biggest contributor of official development assistance funds to the Philippines.
“[They] are also the biggest foreign direct investors in our country, and even as employers of Filipinos in the Philippines, sila na siguro ang pinakamalaki ngayon sa bansa natin of all the different countries. So, napakaimportante ng role ng Japan sa ating bayan ngayon plus, it goes without saying that Japan is the host country of 220,000 Filipinos or probably even more, who now reside in Japan…, who call Japan their home,” he said further. (PCOO)
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Filipinos in Japan are excited to welcome President Aquino
Tokyo, JAPAN: The Filipino community here are “excited” to meet President Benigno S. Aquino III again this Sunday when he arrives for his scheduled engagement with them, in his first official working visit here. He attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting held here last year.
In an interview with Radio TV Malacañang, Maria Barro, a Filipino entertainer in Japan conveyed that she and her fellow Filipinos are all looking forward to see President Aquino once again, noting that some of them will take this opportunity to address their “requests” to the Philippine leader.
President Aquino has met with the Filipino community members in Tokyo late last year following his attendance of the 18th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting which was held in Yokohama.
“Maganda naman ‘yung acceptance ng mga Filipinos dito sa kanya pero…syempre, hindi natin masasabi, may mga Filipino talaga na maraming request—maraming gustong sabihin at maraming gustong ipaabot sa Presidente natin na eto ‘yung kailangan namin,” Barro said.
Barro said the primary request of the Filipino community here is to have a Catholic school built for Filipinos and Filipino-Japanese children that can provide the same quality of education as the schools back in the Philippines.
“Siyempre, hindi lahat-lahat ma-a-address at nakita naman namin kay PNoy na willing siyang pakinggan especially ang hiling ng mga Pilipino dito sa Japan ay magkaroon ng eskwelahan para sa mga Pilipino,” she said.
Barro said that she, together with her daughter, will be participating in the ‘big presentation’ being prepared by the Filipino community for the President when they meet him this Sunday afternoon and they are excited about that as well.
Barro was among the Filipinos who took part in the humanitarian services rendered by the Philippine Embassy when tragedies struck Japan about six months ago saying that what happened during its aftermath was a picture of ‘unity’ for both the Filipino and the Japanese communities.
“Lahat ng Filipino communities natin dito— from the leader to the members—lahat sila nakisama sa pangongolekta ng relief [goods], pagluluto ng pagkain, hanggang pinuntahan nila ‘yung mga tao…sa mga affected areas—‘yung mga Filipino sa affected areas,” Barro recalled.
Barro noted that she herself did flew back to the Philippines when the radiation leak scare broke out following the nuclear power plant explosion at the Fukushima Prefecture but she returned after everything went back to normal.
“Actually, umuwi ako ng Pilipinas ‘nun dahil medyo natakot din ako kasi I have my own family in the Philippines. Pero pagbalik ko dito, nakita ko parang business as usual, kahit medyo humina ‘yung mga companies that target the Filipino market,” she said.
On Monday, President Aquino is also scheduled to meet with another group of Filipinos in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture that was badly hit by the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake. (PCOO)
