The official reason for the Chancellor's trip to Japan is the German G-7 presidency, but hopefully that wasn't the only reason for the long flight that Scholz undertook in the middle of the Ukraine crisis.
For years, German heads of government have made pilgrimages to China, accompanied by large delegations of managers, because they were primarily concerned with export interests.
The Western allies in Asia, which not only include Japan, usually received less attention than authoritarian China, which increasingly positioned itself as the antithesis to America and Europe and has remained loyal to Putin to this day.
The fact that the Chancellor's first trip to Asia did not go to Beijing should be part of Germany's strategic repositioning, which is also necessary in other regions of the world.
If China is forming close alliances with Russia, then it makes sense for Germany to expand its ties with other key countries in Asia.
In fact, Japan, for example, is “a value partner”, as Scholz called it in Tokyo.
India is also one of the countries on this increasingly important continent that should be given more attention in Berlin;
Prime Minister Modi is expected in Berlin next week.
This does not mean that Germany has to give up trade with China.
But he should be separated from political relations as much as possible.