TOKYO (Via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today concluded the Tokyo leg of her five-day working visit to Japan, moving on to Osaka by the Shinkansen (bullet train) at around 8 this morning.

The President, who undertook the Japan visit primarily to speak before the conference sponsored by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), left the Japanese capital with full prospects for the Philippine economy.

Honda Motor Company, one of Japan’s biggest car manufacturers, has told the President of their plans to invest more than P770 million for its expansion in the Philippines.

The new Honda investment will be used to expand the company’s manual transmission plant in the country, with products to be export to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member-countries and other parts of the world.

Once the plant is in operation, the company would be able to export 140, 000 manual transmission annually worth about $650 million.

Honda and Toyota Motor Corp. officials have also reacted positively to the proposal made by the President for them to produce completely built units (CBUs) in the Philippines.

As result, the government is now studying ways on how to restructure the excise tax and the tariff on CBUs because the government wants to encourage new players in the production of such cars in the country.

In her keynote address at the Nikkei conference, the President told high-ranking officials and business leaders in the Asia-Pacific of the Philippine government’s goals and intentions in line with the forum’s objective of reshaping the economic future of the region.

Among the proposals advanced by the President is the integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China into the world’s biggest free trade area.

During their talks in Tokyo, the President and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi agreed to enter into an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) that will bolster economic cooperation between Japan and the Philippines.

The EPA would involve not just trade agreements but also other sectors of the economy like information and communications technology, tourism and human resource development and investment promotion, according to Acting Press Secretary Silvestre Afable, Jr.

The President likewise expressed full confidence in Japan’s full economic recovery as it steadily rises from a wide-scale recession. Japan is embarking on major industrial reforms and fiscal restructuring and its success is crucial to the regional and global economy of the 21^st century.

In all the public forums she addressed and in her meetings with Japanese business executives and media representatives, the President reported on the gains of her administration in implementing an effective macroeconomic policy.

She informed the Keidanren, the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations that includes more than a thousand corporations, that the government projects a 4 to 4.5 percent growth in the Gross Domestic Product this year despite the bleak regional landscape.

In Osaka, the President is expected to address a symposium on "Asia and Japan in the 21^st Century – Proposals by Female Leaders" at the NHK Osaka Hall.

She will also meet with Satoshi Iue, chairman and chief executive officer of Sanyo Electric Co.

The President will likewise meet with the Kansai-based (Western Japan) Filipino community leaders at the Imperial Hotel.

To cap her brief visit in Osaka, the President will be the guest of honor in separate receptions hosted by the Mainichi Newspapers Co. and Osaka officials and business executives.

OSAKA, Japan – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the members of her party today arrived here at the Shinkansen Bullet Train station from Tokyo at exactly 10:20 a.m.

The President took the two hours and 20 minutes ride on the Bullet Train from Tokyo to Osaka, a total distance of 555 kilometers, to personally experience this efficient, fast and effective Japanese mass transit which she hopes to replicate in the Philippines.

In her State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July last year, the President made a commitment to improve and fast-track the establishment of an effective mass transit system in Metro Manila to ease traffic congestion.

The President and Atty. Jose Miguel T. Arroyo were welcomed in simple ceremonies at the third-level platform of the Osaka Bullet Train Station.

Alighting from Green Car No. 8, the President was greeted by the Philippine Consul General to Osaka, Ambassador Antonio Villamayor, and the officers and staff of the Philippine Consulate here.

Also present to welcome the President on the second and final leg of her five-day working visit in Japan were representatives from the Mainichi newspapers.

OSAKA, Japan (Via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today underscored the important role of women as primary agents of change and transformation as she vowed to encourage the process of promoting democracy through more direct links between the Philippines and the peoples of East Asia.

In her speech this morning at the Symposium on "Asia and Japan in the 21^st Century – Proposals by Female Leaders" at the NHK Osaka Hall here, the President said women have had the primary responsibility for rearing children and for ensuring sufficient resources to meet family needs.

"Women are responsible for the majority of food production in most developing countries. The multiple challenges of promoting sustainable development and human security fall upon women first," she said.

However, the President said, "they often lack rights in other aspects of their lives."

In this connection, the President asked the participants attending the symposium, which is sponsored by the Mainichi Newspapers in celebration of its 130^th anniversary, to "redouble their efforts to achieve gender equality in education and to ensure that women have a fair chance to own land and obtain access to finance it."

"It pleases me to note that the Commission on Human Security is co-chaired by Dr. Sadaco Ogata, former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and probably the best known symbol of Japan’s commitment to fight global poverty as well as among the best known women in the world," she added.

The President suggested that the Commission on Human Security take stock of the important role that women play in effecting change to advance human security and sustainable development.

She recalled that last December 1998, then Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi decided to adopt human security as an integral part of Japan’s foreign policy.

According to her, Japan initially contributed 500 million yen, or US$4 million, to establish the Human Security Fund under the United Nations’ auspices.

In September 2000, the President recalled that Japan also pledged a further contribution of $100 million dollars to the said fund. She added that recently, with the Conference on the Reconstruction of Afghanistan, Japan, as the leader for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, also pledged $500 million over the next two years and a half.

"The United Nations Secretary General (Kofi Annan) has called for a coalition for responsible prosperity. East Asia, our region, can respond to that call only in a regional environment where human security is assured not only for global prosperity but also for world peace," she stressed.

OSAKA, Japan—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said that the challenge facing East Asia today is to make the 21^st century a century of peace and security as she cited the key role played by Japan toward the attainment of this goal.

In her speech at the symposium on "Asia and Japan in the 21^st Century: Proposals by Female Leaders," held at the NHK Osaka Hall here, the President said that if the countries in the region can all work together for human security, "we will be able to meet that challenge successfully."

"Human security should be a goal and an end for us in the 21^st century," the President said, adding that this has been the aspiration of humankind since time immemorial.

Its fulfillment in this century, the President said, would depend on large measure on regional concerted effort, with Japan leading the way in the establishment of the human security fund under the auspices of the United Nations.

In December l998, the President said, the late Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi decided to adopt human security as an integral part of Japan’s foreign policy.

According to the President, Japan has initially contributed $4 million to the UN human security fund. During the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000, the Japanese government pledged another $100 million to the said fund, she added.

Another instance where Japan has shown its leadership in promoting human security was its pledge of $500 million over the next two and a half years for the reconstruction of war-ravaged Afghanistan.

But the President clarified that human security is not only about security from terrorism but also security from poverty.

"And security from poverty not only entails poverty reduction but also sustainable development, social progress and political empowerment," the President said.

She said that while poverty, ignorance and neglect may not directly cause terrorism, terrorists tend to exploit the sense of anger and hopelessness of people suffering from injustice, inequity and poverty.

As part of the concerted regional effort in enhancing human security in East Asia, the President cited the following five proposals:

• first, the need to carry on a common fight against terrorism. In this regard, the President said the Philippines is now engaged in a joint training exercise with the United States, whose objective is not only to wipe out terrorism or the Abu Sayyaf but also to return the focus of the government to domestic economy and poverty reduction;

• second, to deepen regional economic integration in building the foundations for sustainable growth. In this connection, the President said that Japan’s recent approach to build on the Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA) in the form of economic partnership agreements should be pursued;

• third, countries in the region should join hands in protecting the great strides that have been made against poverty over most of the past quarter century. The President mentioned her administration’s specific interventions to provide the poor with basic services, safety nets and livelihood opportunities;

• fourth, East Asia must do its rightful share in sustainable development, including a shared approach to promote energy security. The President said that East Asia has the world’s highest demand for oil but its annual oil production accounts for only 4 percent of global capacity; and

OSAKA, Japan – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today urged the countries in Asia and the Pacific to continue to integrate their economies and tear down barriers to the freer flow of goods, services and investments.

The President, in a meeting with Satoshi Iue, chairman and chief executive officer of Sanyo Electric Co. at the Imperial Hotel here, said Asia could lead the world into the 2lst century.

Noting the recent efforts of China and Japan to reach out to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to formalize economic integration, the President said Asean and China have decided, for example, to form an ASEAN-China free trade area within ten years.

She added that Japan is seeking some form of comprehensive economic partnership. "Definitely, the full potential of the region remains untapped," the President said.

The President also said the countries of the region must continue their moves to integrate their economies and facilitate the freer flow of good, services, and investments.

"This may be achieved by undertaking continuing economic reforms to bring down barriers to trade in goods and services, and barriers to investment," the President said.

The President expressed her gratitude and acknowledged the fact that Sanyo’s operations in the Philippines continue to provide employment to a large number of Filipinos and result in the improvement of their economic and social well-being.

The President said the Philippine government would continue to pursue reforms and policies designed to sustain a stable business climate that will attract more foreign direct investments and encourage foreign enterprises like Sanyo to expand their commercial operations in the country.

The President also cited former President Corazon C. Aquino as an active player in Sanyo’s operations in the Philippines as she plays hosts to two Sanyo affiliate offices in her home province of Tarlac.

OSAKA, Japan (via PLDT) - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today hailed the contribution of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) not only to their families but to the country’s development as well.

In a meeting with representatives of Kansai (Western Japan)-based Filipino workers held this afternoon at the Imperial Hotel here, the President described the OFWs as the country’s new investors for having perked up the Philippine economy through their remittances.

"Saludo ako sa inyo dahil sa ipinapadala ninyong puhunan, pabahay, pagpapa-aral, kayo ang mga Filipino Overseas Investors na araw-araw namumuhunan para sa kaunlaran ng ating bansa (I salute you because with your remittances you have contributed to the progress of our country)," the President said.

She said that because of the remittances of OFWs, many barangays, towns and cities have now become economically vibrant and alive.

The President also said that through their talents, hard work and diligence, the overseas workers have elevated the stature of the Filipino to a higher level and brought honor to the country.

Responding to their clamor to allow overseas Filipinos to vote, the President said that she had already certified the absentee voting bill as an urgent legislation that is now being given priority at both houses of Congress.

If passed into law, the absentee voting bill would give Filipinos residing abroad the chance to exercise their right of suffrage and could probably start voting in the 2004 presidential elections.

The President also told the OFWs here that she had already certified as an urgent administration measure the dual citizenship bill.

Among those who met the President here was Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao who is in Japan for a fellowship grant.

The President, accompanied by First Gentleman lawyer Jose Miguel Arroyo and her official delegation, arrived here this morning from Tokyo taking the Shinkansen bullet train.