On December 9, Mr. Yoshihiko Noda, President of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, received a courtesy call from Mr. Roger Dubach, Ambassador of Switzerland to Japan, at CDP Headquarters.

Also present were Ms. Akiko Kamei, Director of the CDP International Department, and Mr. David Brown, Minister-Counsellor.

In the exchange of views, Japan’s fiscal management was raised as a topic. President Noda stated, “Japan’s public finances continue to worsen. There are many points we should learn from Switzerland, which succeeds in balancing competitive industries with sound public finances.”

Ambassador Dubach introduced that he has visited Chiba City—sister city to Montreux, Switzerland—as well as the Osaka–Kansai Expo nearly twenty times, and expressed expectations for further development of bilateral relations, particularly in trade relations and innovation. He especially highly praised Japan’s leadership in new multilateral frameworks such as the CPTPP.

The meeting also included exchanges of views on a wide range of themes, including the G20, the Davos meeting, the OECD, and international affairs.