As an island country in the Pacific region, it is natural for Japan to have diplomatic relationships with neighboring island countries. By the early 1970s, Japan started to provide Official Development Assistance (ODA) to two individual island countries in the Pacific region, and, in the mid-1980s, when most of the island countries had achieved independence, Japan’s diplomacy expanded to additional countries. In 1985 then Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone made an official visit to two of the island countries, and, in 1987, official policy expressing support for the Pacific island countries’ independence, regional cooperation, political stability, economic development, and people-to-people exchange was issued. In October 1997, the “Japan-SPF Summit Meeting” with participants of leaders from Japan and 14 South Pacific Forum member island countries/regions and government representatives of Australia and New Zealand was held in Tokyo. The 8th Pacific Islands Leaders meeting held in May 2018 is symbolic of Japan’s diplomacy toward the Pacific Islands Forum member countries. This article is the author’s personal observation of Japan’s diplomacy toward Pacific Islands Forum member countries and the significance of Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting.

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日本对太平洋岛屿成员国的外交论坛：太平洋岛屿领导人会议（PALM）的意义

作为太平洋地区的一个岛国，日本与周围的岛国建立外交关系是很自然的。到1970年代初，日本开始向太平洋地区的两个岛国提供官方发展援助（ODA），并且在1980年代中期，当大多数岛国实现独立时，日本的外交扩展到了其他国家。1985年，时任首相中曾根康弘对这两个岛国进行了正式访问。1987年，正式政策表达了对太平洋岛国的独立，区域合作，政治稳定，经济发展和人与人的支持交换已发行。1997年10月，在日本举行的“日本-SPF峰会”上，来自日本和14个南太平洋论坛成员国岛国/地区的领导人以及澳大利亚和新西兰的政府代表与会。2018年5月举行的第八届太平洋岛屿领导人会议象征着日本对太平洋岛屿论坛成员国的外交。本文是作者对日本对太平洋岛屿论坛成员国的外交态度以及太平洋岛屿领导人会议的意义的个人观察。