Japan, EU agree to boost economic security, defense cooperation

The Mainichi

5 days ago

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The leaders of Japan and the European Union agreed Wednesday on new initiatives to strengthen cooperation in economic security, trade and defense, amid uncertainty over U.S. tariff policies and China's growing military and economic influence.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement issued after their summit in Tokyo that they will establish a "Japan-EU Competitiveness Alliance" to collaborate in ensuring economic security and bolstering their industries.
The leaders pledged to expand the ministerial-level Japan-EU High-Level Economic Dialogue to better align their strategies as they work to strengthen supply chains for key materials, emphasizing the importance of promoting free trade and multilateralism.
They also agreed to work together toward launching a future dialogue on defense industry cooperation and to begin official negotiations on an accord between Japan and the EU to facilitate the exchange of classified security information.
The talks come as U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs have been shaking global economies, prompting Japan, the EU, and other major trading partners of the United States to negotiate with it while also bolstering ties among themselves.
Earlier in the day, Tokyo announced a deal with Washington on 15 percent country-specific levies, ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline for the U.S. imposition of "reciprocal" 25 percent duties on Japanese goods.
As part of retaliatory measures in a tit-for-tat tariff war with the United States, China has tightened its control over exports of critical minerals, including rare earths, fueling fears that supply chains of those items could be affected.
Japan and European nations have been deepening defense partnerships under a vision that the security of the Indo-Pacific region and that of Europe are inseparable, sharing concerns over China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with North Korean soldiers joining.
Ahead of the summit, Costa and von der Leyen visited the World Exposition venue in Osaka in western Japan on Tuesday. They are scheduled to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday.