SINGAPORE - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Saturday called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as part of his first official visit to Singapore.

During their meeting, PM Lee and Mr Hayashi reaffirmed the longstanding relations and strong cooperation between Singapore and Japan.

Mr Lee also welcomed Japan's increased engagement with Asean, with the 50th anniversary of Asean-Japan dialogue relations coming up in 2023.

"Received Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa today, on his first visit here as Foreign Minister. We first met around 20 years ago, and hadn’t seen each other for quite a few years," Mr Lee posted on his Facebook. 

"Last year, Singapore and Japan celebrated 55 years of diplomatic ties, and we continue to explore cooperation in many new areas. As Japan reopens its borders, I am sure there will be even more exchanges between our countries, which will lead to stronger people-to-people ties." 

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said both leaders had a "fruitful exchange of views on a range of regional and international issues."  

Mr Hayashi was hosted to lunch by Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.

In his Facebook post, Dr Balakrishan said Mr Hayashi has been a good friend of Singapore for over two decades. He said Mr Hayashi was previously a member of the Japan-Singapore Parliamentary Friendship League, and has also participated in several Japan-Singapore Symposiums over the years. 

“Singapore and Japan are close and longstanding partners. Minister Hayashi and I reaffirmed our excellent bilateral relations and agreed to deepen cooperation,” Dr Balakrishnan said.

“There are opportunities to collaborate in areas including digitalisation, sustainability, and energy.”

MFA said Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Hayashi noted the good progress in bilateral cooperation and the strong momentum of high-level exchanges between the two countries.

"They looked forward to deepening collaboration in areas of mutual interest. The foreign ministers also discussed regional and global developments," said MFA.

Mr Hayashi was also hosted to tea by Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam at Taman Jurong Food Centre on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Hayashi departed for Malaysia later on Saturday, where he will meet his counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah.