Keizai Koho Center (KKC) held a meeting with Mr. Walter Sim, Japan Correspondent for The Straits Times, a prominent English-language newspaper of Singapore. Seventeen people who work in public relations, many from companies with local offices in Singapore and other ASEAN countries, took part in the event. Mr. Sim explained Singapore’s current economic landscape and its ongoing efforts to advance further development. He also shared his views on Japan-Singapore relations in the new era and engaged in a lively exchange of views with the participants.

The Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lawrence Wong, was inaugurated in May 2024 and Singapore will commemorate its 60th anniversary of independence in 2025. Although GDP per capita in Singapore has grown to exceed that of Japan, the latest GDP growth forecast from Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry predicts that the GDP growth rate will be around 1-3% in 2025, compared to around 3.5% in 2024, due to the growing economic uncertainty and downside risks, including global conflicts and the inauguration of a new U.S. administration in 2025. The Singapore public is dissatisfied with the government’s handling of inflation and recognizes the need for further diversification. The Wong administration will have to make tough decisions to protect and promote national interests and return the economy to a path of stable growth. Mr. Sim pointed out that in this situation, it is necessary to closely watch the results of the next general election which is to be held by November 2025.

He also stated that Japan-Singapore relations will be expected to expand further and deepen as Singapore will serve as ASEAN’s country coordinator for Japan from 2024 to 2027. In 2002, Japan concluded its first Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Singapore, and since then, bilateral economic relations have continued to expand steadily through such agreements as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). In light of the current favorable economic relations, the Japan-Singapore Economic Dialogue (JSED) was held in April 2024, and Japan and Singapore agreed to launch the Japan-Singapore Co-Creation Platform to promote startups. In this regard, BLOCK71, a global entrepreneurial hub headquartered in Singapore, has expanded its business at Station Ai, one of the largest open innovation hubs located in Aichi Prefecture. In addition, there is a lot of room for cooperation between the two countries in the areas of energy security and decarbonization, and it is expected that they will work closely together through the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) platform. Currently, more than 5,200 Japanese companies are registered in Singapore, and the number of people traveling between the two countries has steadily been increasing; approximately 460,000 Singaporeans visited Japan and around 490,000 Japanese visited Singapore from January to October 2024.

Since arriving in Japan as a correspondent in 2016, Mr. Sim has been traveling across Japan to cover a diverse range of topics, from politics and economics to social and cultural issues. Recently, he has written about the new administration of Prime Minister Ishiba, the current state and future of sumo wrestling in the context of the declining birthrate and aging population, and Japan’s food culture related to traditional sake brewing, which is expected to be registered as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.