Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited Japan this month, for her first foreign trip since the start of the pandemic.
Soon after arriving from Singapore, where she met strategic partners with a trade delegation, Ardern attended an event by Zespri to open the kiwifruit season in Japan.
Zespri has a monopoly on kiwifruit exports from New Zealand (except for in Australia) and a huge market in Japan, with $600 million in exports in 2021. Ardern said that she expected the kiwifruit industry to grow in Japan with the introduction of the red kiwifruit variety.
Ardern also met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during her visit. Japan is the largest economy in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement New Zealand signed in 2018.
“Singapore and Japan represent our 4th and 5th biggest trading partners, and they’re also really important relationships for us in the region,” said Ardern.
Highlights of this trip also included announcing changes to our working holiday visa with Singapore, speaking at a sustainability event, and meeting with the President and the Prime Minister of Singapore, “where we agreed to work more closely on climate issues,” said Ardern on social media.
