
TOKYO Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe has pledged to deliver nearly $9 billion in aid to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to rebuild battle-damaged areas of Mindanao island and improve infrastructure throughout the country.
Abe and Duterte signed a joint statement on Oct. 30 agreeing to a public- and private-sector contribution worth a total of 1 trillion yen ($8.78 billion) for the rapidly growing Southeast Asian country of over 7,000 islands.