Marcos to seek fuller rollout of defense pacts with Japan in first state visit

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flies to Tokyo on Tuesday, May 26, for a four-day state visit, where he will engage Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on how to "fully implement" two existing defense pacts and lock in deeper security cooperation between the two countries' militaries. 

Beyond defense, Marcos is also expected to press for Philippine access to a $10-billion Japanese energy fund, secure new commitments on trade and investment, and sign a fresh agreement on human resources covering the roughly 340,000 Filipinos living and working in Japan.

This was shared by Department of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Analyn D. Ratonel at a Malacañang briefing on Monday, May 25.

Marcos will be in Japan from May 26 to 29.    

"This trip is very important because it is an opportunity for President Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss cooperation between the Philippines and Japan in the fields of security, maritime and defense, economy, energy resilience and decarbonization, and emerging and future-oriented sectors," Ratonel said in mixed English and Filipino.

She said Marcos and Takaichi would discuss how to "fully implement" the 2024 Reciprocal Access Agreement and a supply exchange and logistics pact between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Japan's Self-Defense Forces. 

Asked what specific equipment Manila is seeking, Ratonel declined to detail, deferring to the Department of National Defense.

Regional security is on the agenda, Ratonel said, confirming the West Philippine Sea would figure in talks framed around ASEAN and challenges in the Indo-Pacific Region.

"For the Philippine side, we want to strengthen or deepen our collaboration on operational cooperation in maritime and security areas," she said in mixed English and Filipino, "including information-sharing, the collaboration of our defense agencies, and the transfer of defense equipment."

The 2024 reciprocal access agreement lets Japanese and Filipino troops deploy on each other's territory for joint exercises — the only such pact Tokyo has signed with a Southeast Asian country. 

Another deal called the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement signed in January this year sets the basic terms for the AFP and the Self-Defense Forces to swap supplies and services in the field.

Pressed on whether new transfers of Japanese defense hardware to the Philippines were expected, Ratonel said Manila is counting on sustained Japanese backing for the modernization of the armed forces.

Energy, trade and a labor pact

On energy, Marcos is expected to raise Manila's interest in POWERR Asia — the Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience that Takaichi launched on April 15. 

The $10-billion facility is meant to help Asian countries secure oil supplies, stabilize supply chains and diversify their energy mix.

"We are really finding ways for our long-term energy supply," Ratonel said in mixed English and Filipino.

No Philippine allocation under POWERR Asia has been set, Ratonel said, and the specifics will be left to the two leaders to discuss.

On trade and investment, new agreements are expected, but Ratonel referred questions on sectors and amounts to the Department of Trade and Industry, which is leading the president's business engagements in Tokyo.

A separate agreement on labor is also expected to be signed. About 340,000 Filipinos lived and worked in Japan as of 2025 — roughly half as permanent migrants and half as temporary workers in fields including teaching, engineering and health care, according to DFA figures.

It is Marcos's first state visit to Japan, and the first by a Philippine president since former President Benigno Aquino III in 2015.

Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos will be received at the Imperial Palace for a welcome ceremony and state banquet.

Marcos will also meet Japanese business groups and members of the Filipino community in Japan during the visit.