Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuya Endo paid a courtesy call to Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte on Tuesday and discussed areas of collaboration.
Ambassador Endo was accompanied by his wife, Akiko, and embassy officials in meeting the mayor at the City Hall of Davao.
In his message, Endo said that Davao City was his first official trip outside of Manila this year, and he was delighted to see some of the well-established projects and engagements between Davao City and Japan.
Amb. Endo also highlighted key areas of collaboration, including the Davao Bypass Construction, the Metro Davao Master Plan, and the stalled Waste-to-Energy (WTE) project.
The envoy said the visit reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to its long-standing partnership with Davao City.
Amb. Endo also underscored Davao City’s historical ties with Japan, which dates back over 120 years, and expressed appreciation for the city’s support of the Japanese community, including business leaders and the Nikkei Jin (Japanese descent who live outside of Japan).
“More than 120 years ago, many Japanese migrated to Davao for abaca production. The overseas Japanese workers were looking for a place to find work, and it was in Davao City that provided ample job opportunities for them to be employed,” Amb. Endo said.
He also stressed that the city is an excellent location to commence his service for the year, as it highlights the enduring friendship between Japan and the Philippines.
“Davao City also has several sister city relationships with Japan including Kitakyushu, Sennan, and Hamamatsu. Our embassy is also very much happy to consolidate our connections with your sister cities,” Amb. Endo said.
Meanwhile, Duterte stated in his message that, in addition to the enduring friendship and partnership between Davao City and Japan, the city has consistently viewed Japan as a benchmark, particularly in relation to its progress in infrastructure and socio-economic development.
“We would like to emulate the same good things which are happening in Japan right now. I think Dabawenyos can learn a lot from the Japanese people, especially in terms of how you cultivate your people into well-mannered and disciplined people in society,” the mayor said.
The mayor also shared to Amb. Endo that a similar thing being incorporated in the city is introducing the Dabawenyo DCplinado to the educational system, molding the children to become well-disciplined people.
“We are excited about the construction of the bypass tunnel as you can see the city is growing rapidly, so more roads are needed for the continuous influx of people coming into the city,” the mayor added.
Duterte expressed elation for the city’s collaboration with Japan and he is hopeful to do more partnerships with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the coming years, particularly in education and agriculture sectors.
JICA has been already working closely with Davao and other parts of Mindanao through various cooperation, including the Davao City Bypass Construction Project, which features the first long-distance mountain tunnel in the Philippines, Flood Control and Drainage Improvement Project in Davao, and the Wastewater Management Master Plan in Davao.
It can be recalled that JICA Chief Representative Sakamoto Takema and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan signed a Record of Discussions (R/D) for the Metropolitan Davao master plan in Davao City on November 10, 2023 in the presence of Vice President Sara Duterte and former Ambassador of Japan to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko, together with various local chief executives and representatives from local government units (LGUs) and Regional Development Council (RDC) members of Metro Davao.
The master plan covers the period 2025 to 2045 and will allow “Metro Davao” to identify development priorities such as agri-ecotourism, urban greening, public-private partnership, and infrastructure development, among others.
During the courtesy call, the two leaders were joined by Vice Mayor J. Melchor Quitain Jr., Councilor Al Ryan Alejandre, Councilor Myrna G. L’Dalodo Ortiz, City Information Officer-in-charge Harvey James Lanticse, City Planning and Development Coordinator Engr. Ivan Cortez, Davao City Investment Promotion Center in-charge April Marie Dayap representing the city government of Davao City; along with Embassy of Japan in the Philippines (EJP) First Secretary Kurihara Shinobu, EJP Second Secretary Kinoshita Akito, EJP Third Secretary Saka Ryosuke; Consul General of Japan in Davao Ishikawa Yoshihisa, and Vice-Consul Akari Oda.
