TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Solomon Islands counterpart Matthew Wale on Thursday affirmed their traditional ties in their first meeting since he took office in May, following a pivot toward China under his recent predecessors.

The talks with Wale, who criticized his country's signing of a wide-ranging security pact with China in 2022 while in opposition, came as Japan and other like-minded Indo-Pacific countries seek to counter Beijing's influence over the strategically important island nation following his rise to power.

"As friends connected by the Pacific with shared values such as freedom, democracy, the rule of law and human rights, I hope we can continue to build cooperation for our countries to become stronger and more prosperous together," Takaichi said at the outset of the meeting at her office in Tokyo.

Wale thanked Japan for its extensive support in various areas and expressed his commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Takaichi conveyed her intention to continue supporting the country's fiscal and economic resilience, including through an agreement signed earlier in July to provide a development assistance loan of up to 3 billion yen ($18.4 million), the ministry said.

In an indication that Wale may be seeking to prioritize traditional partners, his first diplomatic visits have been to Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Japan. Tokyo was the second stop on his latest tour, during which he met Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in Washington.

The Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019. The move and a subsequent security pact with Beijing have raised concerns that the country could become a strategic foothold for China in the South Pacific.

In his June visit to Australia, Wale said his government would review the security agreement.