TOKYO: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today held a meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida to discuss efforts to boost the cordial Malaysia-Japan relations at the Japanese Prime Minister's Office on Friday.

This is the first meeting between Ismail Sabri and Kishida on the bilateral ties since they both led their respective governments in 2021.

Ismail Sabri and Kishida had earlier held a Japan-Malaysia conference and spoken to each other in a phone call on April 20 which touched on various regional and international issues.

This is also the first time Kishida played host to the Prime Minister of Malaysia since taking the post as Japan Prime Minister in October last year.

The meeting was in conjunction with the official visit of Ismail Sabri to Japan in which he would also participate in the 27th International Conference On the Future of Asia which is an annual gathering of political, economic and industry leaders from the Asia-Pacific region as well as to meet Japanese business and corporate figures on attracting investment to Malaysia.

It is also Ismail Sabri's the first official visit to Japan since holding the post of prime minister inAugust 2021.

This year is also the 40th anniversary of the Look East policy which contributed to the strengthening of bilateral relations between Malaysia and Japan.

-- BERNAMA