Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is all set to make an official visit to Tokyo from March 17 to 19, marking an important milestone as Singapore and Japan commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
According to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office on Monday, March 16, Wong will meet Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during his stay in the Japanese capital. Takaichi, who first assumed office in October 2025, was recently re-elected in February.
During the visit, Wong will take part in a guard-of-honour ceremony and attend a working dinner hosted by Takaichi. The Singapore leader is also scheduled to meet several senior political and business figures in Japan, as well as members of the Singaporean community living there at a reception event.
The trip forms part of a series of introductory visits Wong has been making to key regional partners since becoming Singapore's prime minister in May 2024. These visits are aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and reinforcing Singapore's engagement with important partners across Asia.
Wong will be accompanied by other minister, including Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Manpower Minister and Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science & Technology Tan See Leng, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Sim Ann, Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and Health Rahayu Mahzam, and Minister of State for Defence Desmond Choo.
Ahead of the visit, Singapore and Japan signed an agreement on Sunday, March 15 to enhance cooperation in areas such as energy, sustainability and climate change. Dr. Tan, who was in Tokyo at the time to attend a high-level forum on energy security, signed the pact with Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ryosei Akazawa.
Under the agreement, both countries will deepen collaboration in areas including cross-border electricity imports and the development of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia. The partnership will also extend to technologies and systems related to carbon capture, utilisation and storage, civil nuclear energy, liquefied natural gas and advanced electricity grid systems.
Wong's Tokyo trip was first mentioned earlier in March by Sim during a Business China event, where she also highlighted Singapore's ongoing efforts to strengthen ties with major Asian partners including China, Japan and South Korea.
Later this month, Wong is expected to travel to China to attend the annual Boao Forum for Asia, a high-level gathering of political and business leaders held in Hainan province.
Speaking earlier about Singapore's relations with Japan, Sim said that both countries have developed a mature and wide-ranging partnership over the decades. She said Singapore looks forward to expanding cooperation with Japan in emerging areas such as the digital economy, green transition and regional security.
Economic ties between the two nations remain strong. In 2025, Japan was Singapore's eighth-largest trading partner, while Singapore ranked as Japan's 14th-largest. Singapore is also Japan's largest investment destination in Asia, with more than 5,300 Japanese-registered companies operating in the city-state as of December 2025.
People-to-people exchanges also continue to thrive. In 2025, more than 620,000 visitors from Japan travelled to Singapore, while around 720,000 Singaporeans visited Japan.
During Wong's trip to Tokyo, Gan Kim Yong will serve as Acting Prime Minister.
