The Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Lipavský, showed support for preparations of the Czech participation at EXPO 2025 and visited Japan together with Czech Commissioner General Ondřej Soška at the beginning of March. The stop in the Land of the Rising Sun was one of the three key destinations included in the minister's tour of the Indo-Pacific region. In Japan, Lipavský signed an air services agreement, delivered the keynote speech to a symposium at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, and visited the venue for the upcoming world exhibition.
According to Lipavský, Japan is an important strategic partner for the Czech Republic, with both countries sharing identical positions on many crucial issues. In Tokyo, Lipavský discussed current economic and security related topics with Japanese Foreign Minister Yōko Kamikawa Together, they signed an air service agreement, which the minister regards as the "foundation for the future introduction of direct flights between the Czech Republic and Japan." He emphasized the contribution made to the signing of this agreement by last year's visit of the Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development, Ivan Bartoš.
Minister Lipavský also delivered a speech on the current security challenges and Czech membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to an expert audience and journalists at a symposium at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. In Tokyo, he also met with Minister for EXPO 2025 Hanako Jimi and the Speaker of the lower house of the Japanese Parliament, Fukushiro Nukaga. At the Czech Embassy, Jan Lipavský opened a business seminar and met with representatives of Czech-Japanese companies, as well as with students and teachers from the Czech language department at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS).
"Czechia and Japan also have close relations in culture, science, sports, and interpersonal relationships," said Lipavský during a press conference. He also mentioned the hundreds of thousands of Japanese tourists who visit Czechia annually and reminded that there are nearly three hundred Japanese companies in Czechia, making Japan the second-largest foreign investor in the country.
More trade and cultural exchanges will be brought to both countries by the EXPO 2025, which will take place in Osaka. That is where Minister Lipavský concluded his busy schedule. He first met with the Governor of Osaka Prefecture, Hirofumi Yoshimura and then had lunch with representatives of the Japan Association for EXPO 2025 and the Mayor of Osaka City, Hideyuki Yokoyama. Finally, together with Czech Commissioner-General Soška, he visited Yumeshima Island, where the world exhibition will take place next year, and the building site of the Czech national pavilion.
Minister Lipavský embarked on his working trip to the Indo-Pacific on February 22, 2024, with a delegation of ten Czech companies and institutions. In India, he met with his counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and spoke at the Raisina Dialogue conference. He became the first Czech Foreign Minister to visit Australia in 20 years. Besides meetings with representatives of the Australian government and parliament, he also met with Czech expatriates.
During the return journey from Japan during a stopover in Mumbai, a malfunction occurred in the aircraft carrying the minister and the entire delegation. A second government aircraft had to be dispatched from Prague, which transported the minister back to Czechia on Monday, March 4, 2024.
