Japan, EU agree on cooperation in defense, economic security
Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru met with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Tokyo for about an hour on Wednesday.
During the summit, Ishiba said Japan and the EU are partners sharing strong aspirations, and that he wants to work closely with the EU to uphold multilateralism and the free and open international order based on the rule of law.
Costa said Japan is the EU's closest partner in the Indo-Pacific region. He stressed they have strong relations, sharing values and interests.
The two sides agreed that the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific is inseparable and that they should work together in areas such as the defense industry and cybersecurity.
In economic security, they confirmed cooperation in strengthening critical minerals supply chains, among other fields.
Japan and the EU reaffirmed that they will continue support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. They strongly condemned Russia's military cooperation with North Korea.
The Japanese and EU leaders issued a joint statement including those agreements.
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