The strategic partnership between Romania and Japan, which enshrines a friendship cultivated for over a century, can be seen today in figures and projects, with Japan being the main destination of Romania's exports to Asia, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said on Friday.

He attended on Friday evening a Japan's National Day reception hosted by the Japanese Embassy in Bucharest.

'I am honoured to be with you today to mark Japan's National Day and the birthday of His Majesty Naruhito, the Emperor of Japan. On behalf of the Romanian Government, allow me to convey our respect and best thoughts to you and the Japanese people. I also want to congratulate Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on her victory in the elections at the beginning of the month and wish her success in her tenure.

Since March 2023, our countries have been united by a strategic partnership, which enshrines a friendship cultivated for over a century. Today, this relationship can be seen in numbers and in projects. Japan is the main destination for Romanian exports to Asia,' Bolojan said.

The prime minister pointed out that in the first ten months of 2025, bilateral trade exceeded USD 1 billion and continues to grow.

'Over 400 Japanese companies are operating in Romania, and through their activity they contribute to the development and modernisation of Romania.'

We want new investments, joint projects and technology transfer, Bolojan added.

'The M6 metro line is such a project that will bring obvious benefits to both Romanians and tourists who will come to visit us in Bucharest. We see concrete opportunities in industry, energy, technology and research. From nuclear and renewable energy, to artificial intelligence and digitalisation. The Centre for High Power Optics in Magurele shows that we can develop large-scale projects together. We have numerous formats of bilateral cooperation. We must use them to their fullest to turn ideas into solutions and bring real value to our economies.'

Bolojan also highlighted Romania's participation in Expo 2025 Osaka.

'Almost a million visitors passed through our pavilion. It is an image capital that we must transform into new investments and collaborations.'

At the same time, the head of the Romanian Executive added that Romania and Japan are close to each other through shared values and interests from a security perspective.

'We are living in a complicated period from the point of view of security. Even though we are geographically distant, Romania and Japan are close to each other through shared values and interests . We support closer cooperation between the European Union, NATO and Japan, in order to defend democracy and the rules that underpin international stability,' the prime minister said. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Daniel Florea; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)