German Chancellor's visit to Japan: towards strengthening economic and military ties

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during their joint press conference in Tokyo, March 18, 2023. AP - Nicolas Datiche

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Japan and Germany will strengthen their ties in economic security and defense. This was stated on Saturday (March 18th) by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a press conference in Tokyo.

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This is Scholz's second visit to Japan in less than a year. This time, he came accompanied by six of his ministers and a delegation from the German business community, as Berlin wants to deepen and broaden its Asia-Pacific exchanges 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 both countries to further diversify their supply chains, which have been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and then by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Strengthening their influence on mines and semiconductors

Tokyo and Berlin want to strengthen "their influence in strategic sectors, such as mineral resources, semiconductors and batteries, and share best practices to address risks," Kishida said. Relations between the two countries have now moved to a "new level", Scholz said, without giving many details.

The German and Japanese defense ministers said in a joint statement on Saturday that they will strengthen their cooperation, including new deployments of the German army in the 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.

Erster Besuch eines 🇩🇪 Verteidigungsministers in Japan seit 16 Jahren - Im Rahmen der deutsch-japanischen #Regierungskonsultationen tauschte sich Minister Pistorius mit seinem 🇯🇵 Amtskollegen Hamada u.a. zum #IndoPazifik und möglichen gemeinsamen Übungen aus. pic.twitter.com/bpTbOoMtdi

— Verteidigungsministerium (@BMVg_Bundeswehr) March 18, 2023

(

With AFP)

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Read on on the same topics:

  • Germany
  • Japan
  • Diplomacy
  • Olaf Scholz
  • Fumio Kishida