Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has kicked off his diplomatic schedule in connection with the ongoing 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.

On Tuesday, Ishiba met with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo. The Central Asian country is the first to hold a "national day" event at the Osaka Expo.

Ishiba told Berdimuhamedov that the Japan-Turkmenistan partnership is a mutually beneficial one based on friendship and shared trust. The Turkmen president replied that he attaches great importance to exchanges with Japan.

The two leaders released a joint statement calling for maintaining "the free and open international order based on the rule of law" and pledging stronger economic and energy cooperation.

Japan is working to deepen its ties with Turkmenistan and four other countries in Central Asia, in part because of their close relations with Russia and China.

Berdimuhamedov also met with Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday.

During the meeting, which lasted about 25 minutes, the emperor told the Turkmen president about his visit to the previous Osaka Expo in 1970, saying, "World Expos create an opportunity for people to open their eyes to the world," according to the Imperial Household Agency.

Berdimuhamedov said he hopes that more people will be interested in his country and gain a better understanding of it.

Ishiba is scheduled to meet with more foreign leaders during the expo, which runs through October. His next guest is Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, who arrives in Japan on Monday.

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya has also been meeting with his counterparts since before the expo began on Sunday.