Japan is to open an embassy in Samoa next year.
The Japanese embassy in New Zealand says Japan and Samoa have built a friendly relationship in fields such as development cooperation and political, economic, and people-to-people exchanges.
It says Japan places strategic importance on the Asia Pacific region and Samoa has been one of the most important partners for Japan's South Pacific
diplomacy.
The embassy in Apia is to be headed by a Charge d'Affaires.