Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Yasuhide Nakayama on 15 June. State Minister Nakayama is responsible for North America and Middle East affairs and also serves as Vice President of the Israel-Japan Parliamentary Friendship League, which was established by his father in the 1980s.

Prime Minister Netanyahu told his guest that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Israel in January 2015 had been very important and had contributed to the recent period of excellent bilateral relations, and asked that he convey his greetings to the Japanese Prime Minister. Prime Minister Netanyahu added that there were many amazing opportunities for bilateral co-operation in many fields, but especially in the cyber field.

The Japanese State Minister then held a working meeting with Eli Groner, Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office, and the professional teams. The two men discussed appropriate fields for investment, advancing bilateral co-operation agreements and opportunities for co-operation in the cyber field.

There is vast economic potential for the Israeli economy in strengthening economic relations with Japan. The Japanese economy is the third-largest economy in the world (after China and the US) with a 2014 GDP of approximately US$4.8 trillion.