Vice-President FUKUYAMA attends the 11th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) in Kleinmond

October 1-2, 2025

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The 11th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) was held in Kleinmond, Republic of South Africa, on Wednesday, October 1, and Thursday, October 2, 2025. House of Councillors Vice-President FUKUYAMA Tetsuro participated in the Wednesday session on behalf of the House.

During the first working session, entitled Strengthening Disaster Resilience and Responses, Vice-President FUKUYAMA expressed Japan’s determination to uphold and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law. He then reiterated his gratitude for the tremendous support Japan received from not only the G20 but countries all over the world in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred while he served as deputy chief cabinet secretary. He also spoke about Japan’s efforts in international cooperation to reduce disaster risk, including the development of early warning systems in Africa and Asia as well as training for disaster management officials from many countries. Calling for an immediate end to the war in Ukraine and expressing regret over the serious humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, he also urged international unity not only in disaster recovery assistance but also in the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine and Gaza, and stated that Japan intends to make every effort to utilize its expertise to these ends.

Vice-President FUKUYAMA’s stay in South Africa was short due to official and political duties in Japan requiring his immediate attention both before and after the P20 Summit, such as the Imperial Household Economy Council. In addition to his remarks at the first working session, however, he did hold bilateral meetings with the speaker of the Senate of Canada, the speaker of the Parliament of Singapore, and the vice-president of the European Parliament, during which issues such as security, economic cooperation, people-to-people exchange, and strengthened parliamentary diplomacy were discussed. He also held short conversations with the presiding officials of participating countries, including the speaker of the National Assembly and the chairperson of the National Council of the Provinces of South Africa, the vice-president of the Senate of Italy, and the vice-speaker of the National Assembly of Mauritius. In response to Vice-President FUKUYAMA’s remarks, the vice-speaker of Mauritius expressed gratitude for Japan’s disaster prevention cooperation, which aimed to improve not just meteorological observation but also forecasting and warning capabilities in Mauritius. At the official dinner, Vice-President FUKUYAMA also conversed for over two hours with the vice-president of the German Bundestag in place of a bilateral meeting, for which no time was available.

This G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit was also an important opportunity to continue fostering high-level exchange between the House of Councillors and parliaments of other countries, which previously had resulted in the speaker of the Parliament of Singapore visiting Japan in November 2023 at the invitation of the House of Councillors, the vice-president of the European Parliament visiting Japan in May this year at the invitation of both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, and the vice-president of the Senate of Italy visiting the House of Councillors in August this year, where she met Vice-President FUKUYAMA.

A joint statement was issued as the outcome document of the conference and included references to issues such as parliamentary efforts on disaster prevention measures, climate change, food and energy security, SDGs, and gender equality. Additionally, in light of ongoing wars and conflicts, Japan’s proposed reaffirmation of democracy and the rule of law as foundational to peace and stability as well as indispensable to sustainable development was reflected in the statement, which underscored that all parties must act in a manner consistent with the principles of the UN Charter and comply with their obligations under international law.

This year’s P20 Summit, attended by more than thirty presidents, vice-presidents, and other representatives of their respective parliaments unanimously adopted the joint statement and concluded the meeting on October 2.