Address by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella at the meeting of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations

Allow me to address a greeting to the Deputy Ministers and to all the participants, along with a special thanks to the Japan BusinessFederation for their welcome and to important Japanese and Italian business leaders for their participation in this meeting.

Next year, Japan and Italy will celebrate the 160th anniversary ofthe treaty that formally marked the beginning of their bilateral relations.

Their relations immediately outreached the institutional and commercial spheres – which were the object of the agreement signed on that now remote 25th of August 1866 – giving root to the modernization processes and the mutual influence that ensued through cultural and interpersonal exchanges.

Eloquent biographies – such as the one on sculptor and fellow-Italian Vincenzo Ragusa – narrate how he and his wife O’Tamasettled in Japan in 1876; or the one on engraver Edoardo Chiossone, who was born in Genoa and whose mortal remains now lie at rest in Aoyama Cemetery. 

Over the decades, side by side, we experienced the unfolding of the tortuous path of history of a millenary civilization.

We lived through the season of modernity astride the 19th and 20thcenturies, the dark period of authoritarian expansionism.

Together, we built the road to democracy and peace after World War II, within the international scenario that emerged from the dramatic world conflict at an extremely high price.

Japan and Italy have been capable of affirming the close link that exists between democracy and prosperity and were awarded full entitlement to sit among the G7 most industrialized Countries by following principles such as liberty, respect, and multilateralism.

Both being processing Countries, we have been able to convert the industriousness of our people into the driver of growing international commerce and interdependency: elements that guarantee global peace.

A bond and affinity that still withstand and prosper even now.

Today, Japan and Italy, like all the other members of the international Community, find themselves before the new global challenges and issues that our times are faced with.

The sector of telecommunications, the digital environment and the computing systems have been at the center of the powerful transformations of the last few decades.

From the widespread use of cell phones and real-time access to the Web, all the way to artificial intelligence, we are now faced with a time of change that is comparable to the revolutions recorded in the middle of the 15th century with Gutenberg’s invention of movable type printing.

Every change must be regulated and oriented towards collective growth, making it “for” individuals and not “on the back” of individuals.

Worthy of notice in this sense is the initiative promoted by Japan during its Presidency of the G7 in 2023 with the “Hiroshima Code of Conduct” for organizations that develop advanced artificial intelligence systems.

It is a legacy that the Italian Government gladly upheld during its G7 Presidency by committing to implement it through the development of a monitoring and validation system.

I am happy to see that the points of reflection on the future of our societies have long been the focus of attention of the Keidanren, as illustrated in its idea of “Society 5.0”, the paradigm used to integrate technology and individual needs in the definition of “digital humanism”.

These points of reflection are raised by the society of the elderly, which is common to both Japan and Italy.

Both in Japan and in Italy, the data on life expectancy ispromising. This result testifies to the quality of the environment and of the health care systems which, compounded to low birth rates, lead to an ageing population that, combined with the speed of technological advancement – with its great spillover effect on society – obliges us to reconfigure consolidated life models.

In addition to the digital transition, Japan and Italy are also committed to the green transition which aims to combat the effects of climate change, as we were reminded earlier.

Protecting the planet and its resources is not a road that can be taken alone.

Borrowing an expression taken from mountaineering, it rather implies climbing roped together, something that requires trust and cooperation which is expressed through dialogue, agreements, conferences and protocols, such as the ones of Paris, Glasgow and Dubai, followed by coherent provisions and behaviors, motivated by the will to translate them into concrete choices.

Europe and Japan, in parallel, have taken an ambitious road.

In 2020, the European Union officially launched the Green Deal with a view to achieving climate neutrality.

In 2023, Japan approved the GX Promotion Act setting ambitious decarbonization targets for 2050.

We are both committed towards developing innovative technologies aimed at – among other things – an increasingly sustainable agriculture and the use of hydrogen as an energy source.

Italy is in a leading position in Europe in terms of circular economy, waste recycling and renewable energy.

Japan is among the world’s leading promotors of research and development of new energy-efficient technologies.

These are spearheading sectors that involve developing industries capable of generating millions of jobs and considerable growth rates.

Environment, research, and development make a perfect mix.

The close relationship bonding the European Union with Japan is the outcome of a shared feeling: the awareness that, at international level, only a relationship between equals produces widespread advantages, being based on the rule of law and the institutions put in place to keep it.

Today, the integration between the two markets – the Japanese and the European – is becoming ever tighter thanks to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed between Tokyo and Brussels in 2019 which eliminated tariffs on European exports to Japan and vice versa: an agreement that was far from relapsing into forms of protectionism.  

The Japanese economy ranks among the leading in the world and thus confirms to be an increasingly strategic interlocutor for our continent, engaged as it is also in building intercontinental relations to support peace, stability, and prosperity.

The idea of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific is essential for the world’s development. It is a decisive sphere of action in order to relieve tensions and limit the exercise of different powers in these seas.

Once again, the alternative is between cooperation and dominion.

There is an impressive presence of Italian companies holding interests in Japan and of Japanese companies holding interests in Italy.

Many industrial partnerships and direct investments are already in place.

There are a great many opportunities to be grasped together, andthe activity of the Business Group is positive in this direction.

I am happy that on next 13th of May Rome will be hosting a session devoted to strengthening partnerships in the economic and commercial sectors.

The development of new technologies for the ongoing dual transition does not occur by chance but is rather the fruit of years of research that often even finds multiple applications compared to those that it was originally designed to meet.

The fruitful scientific and technological partnership agreement developed almost 40 years ago by our two Countries constitutes a framework for promoting hundreds of collaborative efforts between universities and research institutions, which have made it possible to develop greatly relevant bilateral projects.

Upon these sound foundations, the Strategic Partnership launched in 2023 has stimulated even more initiatives.

Allow me to mention two: the one on batteries and the one on gravitational waves. I am certain that new initiatives will soon be promoted. I would also like to recall the space sector, with the projects dedicated to observing the Earth and to exploring the cosmos.

These experiences will not only foster the growth of our Countries, but they are also instrumental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations.

The “living lab” at Expo Osaka 2025 expresses this veryperception: “Designing Future Society for Our Lives” is exactly what we need, what humanity needs, to find answers to the urgent questions that humanity is faced with in looking at its future.

Who are the playmakers in these processes?

It is self-evident that these perceptions should not be met by a deaf ear on the part of Institutions but the scenario we are confronted with – in two Countries founded on the value of liberty and democracy – enables me to underscore the irreplaceable role played by civil society and, in this case in particular, by entrepreneurs. This entrepreneurial world is called upon to courageously open new roads attesting to the capital of cohesionin our respective communities.

It is up to all of us to put ourselves to the test and make the most of the resources we have.

Japan and Italy have already proven to know how to join forces.

In order to continue to grow, together, in peace.