Colonel Nakano Yu and Colonel Akiba Kazuiko, outgoing and incoming Defense Attachés of Japan to the Philippines, respectively, rendered a call on Senior Undersecretary Jose C. Faustino, Jr., Officer-in-Charge, Department of National Defense (DND) just the other week.
Senior Undersecretary Faustino congratulated Colonel Nakano for successfully ending his three-year tour of duty (TOD) and commended the significant development of Philippines-Japan defense relations during his TOD despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. Such developments included sustained education and training exchanges, increased humanitarian assistance and disaster response collaboration, and elevated dialogue mechanisms between the two defense establishments.
Colonel Nakano shared that he is deeply honored to have been assigned in the Philippines and that he looks forward to the continuous growth of
Philippines-Japan defense relations.
The OIC, DND welcomed Colonel Akiba as the new Defense Attaché of Japan to the Philippines and look forward to further enhancing defense cooperation between the two countries. On his part, Colonel Akiba highlighted how far the Philippine defense sector has come since his first visit to the Philippines and committed to work on the development of Philippines-Japan defense relations. He also noted that the Philippines and Japan have reached the golden age of their bilateral relations.
In closing, the OIC, DND wished Colonel Nakano good luck on his next assignment and reassured Colonel Akiba of the Department’s support for the Defense Attaché post of Japan in the Philippines.(VICTOR BALDEMOR)
