Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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387. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has spoken with the Japanese Prime Minister since his appointment as Prime Minister. [1207/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland enjoys strong relations with Japan with a focus very much on political, economic and people-to-people cooperation. While I have not had the occasion to engage with Prime Minister Suga since his inauguration in September, I maintain ongoing contact with my counterpart, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Toshimitsu Motegi. We spoke most recently by phone on 27 November, discussing Ireland-Japan bilateral relations, Ireland's priorities for our term on the UN Security Council and the latest state-of-play regarding Brexit.

My Department, including through our Embassy in Tokyo, has a very good working relationship with the Japanese authorities and we look forward to continued strengthening of our bilateral relations in 2021.