The agenda for the visit also included talks with Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tetsuro Nomura and a courtesy meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan

Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk expressed his condolences on behalf of the Polish government for the tragic death of former Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and highlighted the merits of this prominent politician in the development of bilateral relations. During Shinzō Abe’s tenure as Prime Minister, the relationship with Japan was elevated to a Strategic Partnership. Shinzō Abe's wife played a special role in strengthening friendly contacts between the two nations. As honorary chairwoman of the Fukudenkai Welfare Centre, Ms Akie Abe promotes awareness of the several hundred Polish children orphaned in Siberia who found refuge in Japan in the 1920s.

The conversation with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was also an opportunity to exchange views on the current international situation caused by the war in Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk expressed his thanks to the Japanese government and society for the generosity and assistance provided to Ukrainian refugees residing in Poland.

Talks by agriculture ministers

The meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture of Poland and Japan was historic, as the last talks at this level took place in 2009. It served primarily to discuss the status and prospects for the development of bilateral economic cooperation within the framework of the Strategic Partnership, including the increase of Polish food exports to the Japanese market.

“It is gratifying that Polish food has gained the appreciation of discerning importers and Japanese consumers. I hope that the Japanese authorities’ decision taken in August this year to restore the possibility of exporting poultry meat from Poland will contribute to a further increase in trade,” said Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk.

The head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture also expressed his expectation that arrangements for the export of thermally processed poultry meat and poultry products from Poland would be finalised and that procedures to open the Japanese market to Polish blueberries would run smoothly.

The head of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture thanked the Polish delegation for visiting Tokyo and attending the funeral ceremony of former Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. He praised the support carried by Poles towards refugees from Ukraine. He also announced plans to hold a meeting of G7 agriculture ministers in Japan in 2023.

The interlocutors expressed the expectation of increase in the Polish–Japanese trade in agri-food products, also within the framework of the European Union–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which entered into force on 1 February 2019.

The talks also included the topic of global food security in the context of the war in Ukraine.

Agri-food trade with Japan

Japan is an important partner for Poland in the agri-food sector and the Japanese market is of consistently high interest to Polish entrepreneurs. In 2021, we saw a 54% increase in the value of Polish goods shipped to Japan to EUR 95.2 mln (in 2020, the value of exports was EUR 61.6 mln). The most important export item is beef. In August 2022 Japanese authorities declared selected regions of Poland free of bird flu. This means restoring the possibility to export meat and poultry products from 15 Polish voivodeships.