“I was delighted to meet with Prime Minister Ishiba in Tokyo today.

“There is a longstanding, strong friendship between Ireland and Japan. We agreed to build on this mutually beneficial partnership and further strengthen the economic ties between our countries.

“Japan is a key trading partner for Ireland. We are both pro enterprise and pro business. This important economic relationship formed a key part of our discussions.

“In an increasingly complex geopolitical environment, it is important that we build on the relationships we have with like-minded partners, such as Japan. Much progress has been made since my last visit to Japan in 2022 when the Joint Leaders statement between our two countries was signed. We are committed to further developing our political, economic, trade and people-to-people links.

“We also discussed Ireland’s participation at Expo and the opening of Ireland House Tokyo, the new home of Ireland’s embassy and state agencies in Japan, which demonstrates our commitment to further develop bilateral relations with Japan.”