Next week, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will visit to France, Brazil, and Paraguay in an effort to strengthen his country's relations with Latin America.
 
Kishida's six-day agenda includes meetings with Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the Japanese prime minister's office.
 
"Brazil is the G20 chair this year, while Peru is the APEC chair. The globe is focused on Latin America this year, according to government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi, who made the announcement at a routine briefing.
 
"Japan would like to seize this opportunity to strengthen ties with Latin American countries," he said.
 
According to Japanese news agency Kyodo News, Kishida is anticipated to sign an agreement with Lula about bilateral cooperation in sectors ranging from decarbonisation to climate change and other environmental issues.
 
A group from at least 40 businesses will accompany Kishida, who is hoping to increase Japanese investments in Brazil in order to strengthen bilateral collaboration on green technology, according to a report in the Nikkei newspaper.
Japanese automotive behemoth Toyota said last month that it intends to invest 11 billion reais ($2.2 billion) to increase the number of hybrid cars produced in Brazil.
 
According to his office, Kishida would "lead the discussions on solutions to various economic and social issues" at an OECD summit in France before travelling to Brazil.
 
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