Japan and Malta agree to maintain rules-based maritime order

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Maltese counterpart Joseph Muscat agreed Wednesday to closely cooperate in maintaining maritime order based on the rule of law. In a news conference after their meeting in Tokyo, Abe said the two leaders confirmed the importance of the issue. Malta is the home of the International Maritime Law Institute aimed at training specialists in the field. Abe said they also agreed to work together in resolving outstanding issues surrounding North Korea, including Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s. On the economic front, Muscat, the first Maltese prime minister to visit Japan in 28 years, expressed hope for an early implementation of a free trade agreement Japan and the European Union signed last month.