Latest news with #Takeshi Iwaya
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
South Korea Foreign Minister Cho visiting Japan, US for first meetings with allies
SEOUL, July 29 (Reuters) - South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Tuesday he would hold his first meeting in Tokyo with his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya since taking up his post this month before travelling to the U.S. to support trade negotiations. Cho will also have his first meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 31, as Seoul makes a final push to secure a trade deal to limit the impact of punishing U.S. tariffs due to come in on August 1. "The tariff negotiations are nearing an end. I will provide much support for this as well," Cho told reporters in Seoul ahead of his departure to Japan. "But more importantly, we will discuss how to cooperate between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan as well as strengthen the U.S. alliance in a comprehensive way." As for his Japan visit, Cho said he would discuss important bilateral issues including historical disputes "in a future-oriented way" and agree to cooperate going forward. "The most important thing is how to achieve peace and stability in Northeast Asia through cooperation between Korea and Japan," Cho said.
Japan Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Japan voices strong concern over Chinese military and rare earth moves
Japan's top diplomat used a meeting with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of a regional summit in Malaysia on Thursday to lay out a laundry list of concerns with Beijing — including dangerous intercepts by its military and its export controls on crucial rare earth elements. Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya held talks with China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-related gatherings in Kuala Lumpur to voice Tokyo's 'strong concerns' about the flurry of security and economic issues, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. Highlighting Tokyo's rising security concerns, the 45-minute talks came just ahead of an announcement by Japan's Defense Ministry of what it said were two 'unusual approaches' by Chinese fighter jets near Air Self-Defense Force surveillance aircraft that 'risked accidental collisions' over the East China Sea on Wednesday and Thursday. At the meeting, Iwaya pressed Wang over last month's territorial airspace violation by a China Coast Guard helicopter around the Japanese-controlled, Chinese-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea as well as the ramped-up activities of its two operational aircraft carrier activities in the Western Pacific. The foreign minister also pointed to the deteriorating security situation in the East and South China Seas, while highlighting the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, saying that large-scale military exercises around Taiwan are 'incompatible with this' — an apparent criticism of China's increasingly common drills around the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as its own and has vowed to unify with the mainland. Iwaya also said he had 'strongly urged' Wang to expedite the approval process for export licenses of rare earths and magnets, saying the controls were having a 'severe' impact on Japanese firms. Japanese imports of the elements, which are essential for making a number of advanced products, have reportedly fallen to the lowest level in five years following Beijing's imposition of trade restrictions in response to U.S. tariffs. According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Wang assured Iwaya that China can meet the normal rare earth demands of Japanese companies 'as long as the relevant regulations are observed and the necessary procedures are followed.' The detention of Japanese nationals in China also featured in the talks, with Iwaya calling for their early release and describing the issue as 'one of the biggest factors impeding people-to-people exchanges and the improvement of national sentiment' between the neighboring countries. Japan's top diplomat is one of dozens of foreign ministers, both from Southeast Asia and the region's top partners, who have convened in Kuala Lumpur for two-days of gatherings that end Friday. Besides speaking with Wang on Thursday, Iwaya also attended a Japan-ASEAN meeting in which he highlighted Southeast Asia's growing economic and security role at a time of escalating geopolitical tensions. 'The international community is at a historic turning point, with regional and international situations becoming increasingly severe and uncertain,' Iwaya said. 'ASEAN is the linchpin in realizing a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' and the world's growth center,' he added. 'Its role is becoming increasingly important for peace and prosperity throughout the region.' U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (center) poses for photos with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (left) and Philippines Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro at a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related meetings in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. | POOL / VIA AFP-JIJI But as the region grapples with uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's new trade tariff announcements, Iwaya also called for 'maintaining and strengthening a free, fair and open international economic order' based on rules and with the World Trade Organization system at its core. Iwaya also held talks with several other counterparts, including a trilateral meeting with Theresa P. Lazaro of the Philippines and U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio, who is on his first trip to Asia since assuming his current role. Rubio looked to defuse growing concerns that the United States under Trump remains aloof and distracted when it comes to the interests of Southeast Asia and the larger Indo-Pacific region, telling gathered ministers Thursday that it 'remains a focal point of U.S. foreign policy.' 'When I hear in the news that perhaps the United States ... might be distracted by events in other parts of the planet, I would say distraction is impossible, because it is our view — our strong view and the reality — that this century and the next — the story of the next 50 years will largely be written here in this region,' he said. 'It is impossible to ignore it, to sideline it, and we have no intention of doing so,' he added. Rubio also held highly anticipated talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, with the pair discussing a Ukraine peace deal, as well as the situation in Iran and Syria, according to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. Global and regional concerns have taken center stage in almost all ASEAN-related gatherings as the 10-member bloc's unity and ability to ease tensions is being put to the test over not only the intensifying civil war in Myanmar and the border clash between Cambodia and Thailand but also over the ongoing maritime disputes between Manila and Beijing. In a separate gathering with Iwaya, Wang and South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoonjoo, Malaysia's top diplomat, Mohamad Hasan, emphasized the seriousness of growing trade and security issues facing Southeast Asia. 'The region is facing a storm — what might be called the perfect storm,' he said, explaining that the challenges are multifold, ranging from intensifying great power rivalry, economic fragmentation to technological disruptions and transboundary threats. 'Unilateralism and nationalism are on the rise, marginalizing multilateralism that is essential for a stable world order,' he added. Talks on these issues, however, had largely been overshadowed by Washington's announcements of new trade tariffs on the summit's host and other U.S. regional partners and allies, raising doubts about its commitment to the region. The reaction from the summit was prompt and unequivocal, with this year's ASEAN chairman, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, slamming the tariffs on Wednesday as tools being wielded to 'pressure, isolate and contain.' 'Tariffs, export restrictions and investment barriers have now become the sharpened instruments of geopolitical rivalry,' Anwar said. 'This is no passing storm,' he added. 'It is the new weather of our time.' Despite efforts by some to offer concessions, Trump on Monday announced hefty levies of between 25% and 40% on six Southeast Asian countries, as well as 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea. Among ASEAN nations, only Vietnam has so far secured a deal, which lowers the levy from an initial 46% initial to 20%.
Japan Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Japan urges China to ensure access to rare earths and magnets
Japan's foreign minister urged his Chinese counterpart to ensure Japanese companies have access to rare earths and expressed concern about Chinese military activity close to Japan. Takeshi Iwaya expressed "strong concern' over China's export controls on rare earths and magnets, as well as Chinese military aircraft approaching Japanese Self-Defense Force planes, during a meeting Thursday in Malaysia, according to a statement from Japan's Foreign Ministry. Iwaya "strongly urged the Chinese government to expedite the approval process for export license applications for rare earths and magnets' during a 45-minute meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, according to the statement. A Chinese foreign ministry statement about the meeting didn't include references to specific points raised by Iwaya. Instead, it said that Wang conveyed to Iwaya that China's policy toward Japan remains stable and consistent. "The two sides also had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on issues of common concern,' the Chinese statement said. According to the Japanese statement, the ministers also agreed to accelerate steps toward resuming exports of Japanese beef to China, including the early enactment of a Japan-China animal health quarantine agreement. In addition, the Japanese statement said the ministers confirmed progress in the process of lifting of a Chinese ban on Japanese seafood imposed in response to Tokyo's release of wastewater into the sea from the destroyed Fukushima power plant.
