Singapore’s Lawrence Wong seeks stronger ties with Japan amid global tensions

2026.03.17 15:20 Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong catches up with Singaporeans in Japan as he kicks off his visit to Tokyo on Tuesday. Photo: Facebook / Lawrence Wong Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has kicked off his visit to Japan, where he is expected to address strategies with counterpart Sanae Takaichi on enhancing cooperation against a backdrop of economic uncertainty brought on by the Iran war. Both leaders are likely to tread cautiously in discussions to avoid antagonising any superpower, analysts say. The three-day trip, which began on Tuesday, marks Wong’s first official visit to Japan since he became Singapore’s prime minister in May 2024. In an opinion piece published in Nikkei on Tuesday, Wong said both nations could strengthen their “already robust” economic ties and explore collaboration in areas such as artificial intelligence and the digital economy. Singapore and Japan’s existing partnership provided “firm foundations for navigating this changed world”, which Wong described as one “marked by intense uncertainty, fragmentation and disruption”. “As like-minded countries with a shared commitment to free trade and rules-based multilateralism, there is much more that we can do together,” he said. A container vessel leaves the Pulau Brani port terminal in Singapore on February 27. Japan is a key source of foreign direct investment in Singapore, official data shows. Photo: AFP Wong detailed the mutually beneficial partnership on the economic front. Data from the Singapore Department of Statistics showed Japan was among the top five sources of foreign direct investment into Singapore, recording S$196 billion (US$155 billion) in 2024. In 2023, Singapore was the highest contributor to Tokyo’s FDI with 839 billion yen (US$5.28 billion), according to the Japan External Trade Organisation. Wong said the bilateral relationship could also drive cooperation between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and advance prioritie

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