On Monday, September 11, Governor Koike met with Ambassador Giorgio Starace of the Republic of Italy at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Last year Japan and Italy celebrated the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Touching on the fact that the two countries have further strengthened their relations through various commemorative events, Governor Koike said, "In 1996, Tokyo and Rome became friendship cities. This fiscal year, we plan to send judo instructors to Rome from Tokyo to help improve the techniques of Italian instructors and youth participants. I look forward to seeing many Italian athletes come to the Tokyo 2020 Games and win medals."

Ambassador Starace offered his thoughts, saying, "I looked around your city by foot, bicycle, and car, and I found it to be clean as well as warm and welcoming to foreigners. Tokyo has the reputation of being one of the world's most livable cities, and I also got that impression." He also spoke about economic growth in the two nations. "I hope that companies from Tokyo and Italy could work together."