Tokyo In crises, partners move closer together. The foreign ministers of the seven most important industrialized countries (G7) want to demonstrate this to the world at their meeting in Münster this week. Japan, the only Asian member country, would also like to use the upcoming meetings to expand cooperation with Germany on security policy and on strengthening economic security. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told Handelsblatt.
The world is “in a crisis of unprecedented proportions as a result of aggression against Ukraine and the increasing risk of the use of weapons of mass destruction,” Hayashi said. Germany is “an extremely important partner for Japan, with whom we share universal values such as freedom, democracy and the rule of law”.
One area of increased cooperation is improving economic security. The upheavals in the supply chains as a result of the corona pandemic, but especially the problems that arise after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine due to dependence on Russian gas, have brought “economic security” into the focus of the G7 partners.
The Japanese government has been dealing with the issue for some time. Now she wants to work with the other G7 partners to “overcome the dependency on certain countries for important goods,” said Hayashi.
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One of the main topics of the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting on Thursday and Friday will be the diversification of economic relations. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday that the focus should be on cooperation with regions that “share our values”.
Military and diplomatic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific
According to Hayashi, such a concept of greater economic independence and resilience does not conflict with the multilateral trading system, which is based on free and fair trade. In recent years, some states have tried to abuse their own economic power. They would have put economic pressure “on partners to take arbitrary and non-transparent trade measures”. It is about working together to preserve and strengthen the international economic order, said Hayashi.
The growing tensions between the US and China are also fueling concerns that the West could become decoupled from China, particularly in high-tech areas.
In July, the Federal Foreign Minister and her Japanese colleague discussed intensified cooperation in Tokyo. At the G7 meeting, this “moving closer together” is likely to become more concrete.
(Photo: IMAGO/Kyodo News)
Before the G7 foreign ministers meet in Münster, the foreign and defense ministers of the two export nations Germany and Japan speak to each other at the so-called two-plus-two consultations. Hayashi announced that he wanted to specifically discuss what bilateral cooperation would be possible to strengthen economic security, but also in the area of security policy.
With the turn of European and German security policy to the Indo-Pacific region, the strategic overlaps with Tokyo are growing. Hayashi highlighted the German government’s “Indo-Pacific Guidelines” and the recent German military visits to Japan. Last year the frigate Bavaria cruised in Asia, this year the Luftwaffe flew Eurofighters to the region to take part in maneuvers in Australia and to visit partners Japan and South Korea.
“The security of Europe is inextricably linked to that in the Indo-Pacific,” said Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida this week after a meeting with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Tokyo. China not only claims islands controlled by Japan, but also threatens to annex Taiwan militarily if necessary. North Korea’s nuclear armament poses another threat. Kishida and Steinmeier also spoke of “enhanced defense cooperation” and an expansion of foreign policy relations.
Putin’s nuclear threats ‘absolutely unacceptable’
The growing threat to Taiwan is playing an increasingly important role in Japanese thinking. “While China-Taiwan relations are characterized by close ties, especially in the economic field, the overall military balance of power is shifting in favor of the Chinese side, and this gap is widening every year,” Foreign Minister Hayashi warned.
Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are not only important for Japan’s security, but also of great importance for the stability of the international community as a whole.
US warships have made a presence in the strategically important Taiwan Strait amid rising tensions with China.
(Photo: dpa)
While Japan is advocating a peaceful solution, the country is arming itself and signing new military agreements with US allies such as Australia and Great Britain.
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As for Germany, dealing with China is also of great importance for Japan, Hayashi made clear. China is increasing its influence within the international community in a wide variety of areas such as politics, the economy and the military.
“We are particularly concerned about the situation in the East China Sea, including the Senkaku Islands, as well as the increasing military pressure around Japan and the situation in the South China Sea,” explains Hayashi. However, Japan wants to “continue the dialogue with emphasis, also including the open questions”.
Japan will take over the G7 presidency from Germany next year. In addition to promoting economic security, one focus for this time will be the fight against nuclear weapons. Foreign Minister Hayashi finds clear words to Russia and its President Vladimir Putin.
Tensions between Taiwan and China are growing. The United States has promised military assistance to the island nation in the event of an attack by Beijing.
(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire)
The threat of using nuclear weapons was “absolutely unacceptable,” said Hayashi shortly before his visit to Germany. “If nuclear weapons were to be used, it would be a hostile act directed against all of humanity.”
The international community cannot allow this under any circumstances. At the G7 summit, Japan, along with the other members, wants to “resolutely oppose military aggression and threats with nuclear weapons as well as attempts to overthrow the international order”.
Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida, a strong advocate of nuclear disarmament, has already sent a signal by choosing the location for the G7 summit of heads of state and government in 2023: his hometown of Hiroshima was wiped out by an American atomic bomb in August 1945.
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