Yomiuri and Nikkei wrote that Prime Minister Abe held talks with visiting Cuban First Vice President Diaz-Canel on Thursday at the Kantei and agreed to strengthen economic and other relations between Japan and Cuba. Yomiuri wrote that the Cuban official conveyed to Abe a message from President Raul Castro inviting the Japanese leader to visit his nation. Nikkei front-paged its one-on-one interview with Diaz-Canel, during which he expressed his nation’s strong desire for the United States to completely lift its economic embargo against Cuba.