Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told visiting Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho on Friday that shoring up ties with a country that plays central role in Portuguese-speaking nations around the world is in line with what he calls "diplomacy that takes a panoramic perspective of the world map."

The two leaders agreed at their summit in Tokyo to further promote contact between Japanese firms and the business federation of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. The community is an intergovernmental group otherwise known as the CPLP.

Abe, who's been racing around the world since he took office in December 2012, noted that Portugal is "the leader of the Portuguese-speaking nations located throughout the world, such as in South America and Africa," and that strengthening bilateral ties would improve his diplomacy.