Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamikawa Yoko is set to visit Nepal on May 5. She will be the fourth Japanese foreign minister to come to Nepal since the two countries established diplomatic relations in September 1956.

This will be the first visit to Nepal by a Japanese foreign minister since 2019 and also the first to the country for Kamikawa, who is from Shizuoka prefecture at the foot of the highest peak of Japan, Mount Fuji, the Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu said in a statement.

Kamikawa will arrive in Kathmandu after completing visits to several other nations including Sri Lanka, according to officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The discussions will revolve around broader issues of bilateral and mutual interests including Nepal’s vote and support in several international elections at the United Nations and other multilateral forums where Japan is contesting.

“There is also a strategic motive behind the visit as Japan is embracing its role as a middle power and wants to expand its footprint in Asia,” a joint secretary at foreign ministry said. “This is not solely focussed on bilateral relations.”

Against the backdrop of growing rivalry between the US and China, Japan remains a key ally of the US, the joint secretary said. “Kamikawa’s visits to Nepal and Sri Lanka are also intended to send a strategic message to Beijing that Tokyo is also exerting its strategic leverage in the region.”

She will arrive on May 5 and will return on the same evening, Amrit Bahadur Rai, foreign ministry spokesperson said. “We will review all aspects of our relations and discuss possible areas of cooperation. So far no agreement or understanding has been scheduled for signing during the visit.”

Experts, meanwhile, say Nepal should revisit and reorient its ties with Japan, one of the country’s major development partners, and focus on diversifying exports, especially in agriculture, dairy, and fruits-related products. They also suggested Nepal should seek Japanese support in education, health, skill development and earthquake preparedness, among other sectors.

During the visit, the Japanese side will pledge its support for Nepal’s bid to graduate from Least Developed Countries (LDC) and beyond as external support to Nepal will decrease after graduation, a foreign ministry official privy to the visit said.

“We expect to get Japanese support and commitment during the visit,” the official said.

Nepal aims to graduate to a developed nation status by 2026, but certain indicators remain unfavourable.

Both sides will announce the commemoration of the establishment of 70th years of diplomatic ties between Nepal and Japan in 2026 which will be marked by some high-level visits and some special functions in both capitals.

The Japanese embassy in Kathmandu in a statement expressed hope that the foreign minister’s visit “will give a good impetus for further strengthening our friendly relationship towards the year 2026, the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Nepal.”

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to make an official announcement of the Japanese foreign minister’s visit.

The foreign ministry official told the Post that Nepal plans to propose some projects to the Japanese side and the Ministry of Finance is compiling the list.

But former foreign secretary Madan Kumar Bhattarai, who also served as Nepali Ambassador Japan, said that “time has come to reorient and revisit our ties with Japan and we should seek some specific assistance from Japan for mutual benefits and for reducing our import dependency.”

“We have to focus on assistance in agriculture-related products such as buckwheat, ginger, turmeric, dairy products, yam, and fruits which have high demand in Japan,” said Bhattarai. “There are also other areas of cooperation, including education, health, skill development, mountain training, development of Lumbini, and earthquake preparedness.”

Japan has a long history of assisting Nepal in agriculture, skill development, education, health, tunnel, transmission lines, and water resources. It has also been providing assistance to hundreds of small projects.

Former ambassador Bhattarai says Nepal could benefit if it is able to engage in commercial scale farming of agricultural products by maintaining Japanese quality standards. This will also help create jobs and standardise our agriculture sector, he says.

As of now, Nepal’s exports to Japan include pashmina, woollen goods, carpets, handicrafts, garment, Nepali paper which is used in making the Japanese currency notes, jewellery items, leather goods, and silver ornaments. Nepal imports vehicles, electronic items and their spare parts, various kinds of machines, medical supplies, textile, and luxury items from the east Asian kingdom.

Bhattarai also suggested that officials should seek Japanese assistance for building teaching hospitals in all seven provinces. The Maharajgunj-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital was built with Japanese assistance.

The Nepali Diaspora in Japan is also growing, with as many as 100,000 Nepali nationals currently estimated to be living and working in Japan, thus making them the seventh largest migrant community, according to the Japanese embassy statement.

During her stay, the Japanese foreign minister will meet President Ramchandra Paudel, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha, among other senior officials.

She will be meeting Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shrestha three times—during a one-on-one, at the delegation-level talks, and at a dinner to be hosted by Shrestha, according to a foreign ministry official.

Japan is contesting several positions at the United Nations and other multilateral forums and seeking our vote, the foreign ministry official said. “It is up to us to commit and assure them on that.”

Bhattarai, the ex-envoy, said there are areas like mountaineering where Japanese are very keen to help others. “The Japan Alpine Club is considered the world’s best mountaineering training centre, with which we can partner,” he added.

“Millions of Japanese want to visit Lumbini, we can bring them here. On seeking development assistance and cooperation, we lack adequate homework, follow-up, or coordination among relevant ministries for effective implementation of projects,” said Bhattarai.