EU-Japan Security Cooperation Elevated... New Ministerial-Level Regular Talks Targeting China Established

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

The European Union (EU) and Japan are expected to announce a joint statement elevating their security cooperation.

On the 3rd, Japanese media including Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that the EU and Japan are coordinating to issue a joint statement on cooperation in maritime security, countermeasures against cyberattacks, and semiconductor supply shortage measures.

According to the reports, the EU and Japan aim to agree on establishing a strategic dialogue framework for regular ministerial-level consultations in defense and security at the summit to be held on the 13th in Brussels, Belgium.

The draft joint statement prepared by the EU side states, "We will develop the EU-Japan security partnership." The strategic dialogue is modeled after security consultation committees such as those involving the foreign and defense ministers of the United States and Japan, with final consultations between the EU and Japan. They also plan to expand cooperation in areas such as maritime security, cyberattacks, countermeasures against disinformation, and space.

The draft also includes plans to cooperate in strengthening critical material supply chains and to share information on China’s political, economic, and defense sectors, which are intensifying hegemonic moves.

The memorandum between the EU and Japan will also specify cooperation in next-generation semiconductor research and development and talent cultivation. Yomiuri analyzed that "the purpose is to expand networks in the important semiconductor sector amid advanced technology competition with China and to strengthen economic security." Rapidus, a newly established Japanese company founded to domestically produce next-generation semiconductors, aims to mass-produce cutting-edge 2-nanometer (nm; one billionth of a meter) semiconductors by 2027. Earlier in May, Japan agreed jointly with the U.S. government to establish a roadmap for developing advanced semiconductor technology.