Japan and Germany confirm readiness to tighten sanctions against Russia

This Saturday, Japan and Germany reiterated their intention to continue to impose sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and to maintain support for Kyiv at the high-level political summit, EFE reported.

A summit meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took place in Tokyo during the latter’s official visit to Japan, accompanied by a large number of members of his cabinet, including six ministers, including the ministers of finance, foreign affairs and defense .

Kishida expressed the common will to “continue to cooperate in the application of sanctions against Russia and in providing support to Ukraine to end the invasion of Ukraine as soon as possible” during a joint press conference after the meeting.

The head of the Japanese government said the two countries “will continue to work together to maintain and strengthen the rules-based international order” in view of the “historic crossroads” at which the international community finds itself because of the war in Ukraine.

Kishida also said Japan would “follow with interest” the investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin as “allegedly responsible” for the illegal deportation of Ukrainians. children and their transfer from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia, which is tantamount to a war crime.

In addition to coordinating the response to the Ukrainian situation, another major item on the agenda of the meeting was to strengthen cooperation on defense and economic security issues through concrete measures such as mutual logistical assistance between the two countries’ troops. or cooperation in the supply of electrical semiconductors.

Both Japan and Germany are trying to reduce their dependence on Chinese imports of raw materials and electronic components, which are critical to both countries’ industries.

“The pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine made us understand that we should not become too dependent on a particular country, as this could seriously affect our nuclear industry,” Scholz said at a press conference.

Tokyo has also launched a plan to revitalize its domestic semiconductor industry, including setting up a next-generation chip manufacturing consortium from major Japanese and automotive technology companies, and expanding cooperation with companies in other countries.

In the same vein, Kishida and Scholz pledged to strengthen their cooperation to achieve a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” referring to Washington and Tokyo’s strategy to contain China’s geopolitical rise in the region.

The meeting also discussed the upcoming G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, at the end of May, and cooperation between Berlin and the current Japanese G7 Presidency, which is replacing Germany.