Germany, Japan to deepen ties on defence, resources

TOKYO Japan and Germany vowed to deepen cooperation on defence and climate protection, and work more closely together to reduce excessive dependencies in critical areas such as raw materials.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday hosted Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Tokyo for the first German-Japanese government consultations which included a joint Cabinet meeting and bilateral talks between key ministers for defence, economy, finance, transportation and foreign affairs.

"The international community is facing a time of great change and Japan and Germany need to cooperate even more closely than before to maintain and strengthen the free and open global order based on the rule of law," Mr Kishida told reporters after the meeting.

Mr Scholz said the two had brought German-Japanese ties to a new level with the joint Cabinet session.

In a declaration issued after the summit, the two governments condemned Russia's war in Ukraine. They also agreed to work to establish a legal framework for defence and security cooperation. Mr Scholz also told the news conference a German frigate would soon visit Japan.

Agencies from the two countries will collaborate on critical minerals supply, according to the statement. Germany and Japan also discussed possible joint procurement of raw materials between companies in their respective economies, Mr Scholz said during the news conference.