Japan and Germany will strengthen their economic security and defense ties. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday March 18 at a press conference in Tokyo.
This is the second visit to Japan byOlaf Scholz in less than a year. He came, this time, accompanied by six of his ministers and a delegation from the German business community, as Berlin wishes to deepen and broaden its exchanges in Asia-Pacific beyond China.
Japan will also host the G7 summit in May in Hiroshima, in the west of the country. Fumio Kishida and Olaf Scholz stressed the need for their two countries to further diversify their supply chains, disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and then by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Strengthen their influence on mining and semiconductors
Tokyo and Berlin want to strengthen their influence in strategic sectors, such as mining resources, semiconductors and batteries, and share best practices to address risks Mr. Kishida explained. Relations between the two countries have now shifted to a “ new rung “, welcomed Mr. Scholz, without however delivering many details.
The German and Japanese defense ministers said in a joint statement on Saturday that they would strengthen their cooperation, including further deployments of the German army in Asia-Pacific in the future and joint military exercises. The two ministers also intend to prepare a future “legal framework” to facilitate joint military activities, and intensify bilateral cooperation in defense equipment and technologies.
(With AFP)