Japan-Germany Relations
Japan-Germany Summit Meeting
June 12, 2021
On June 12, commencing at 9:25 a.m. (local time; same day, 5:25 p.m. JST) for 25 minutes, Mr. SUGA Yoshihide, Prime Minister of Japan, who is currently visiting the United Kingdom (UK), held a Japan-Germany Summit Meeting with H.E. Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, the two leaders welcomed their first face-to-face meeting this year, on the 160th Anniversary of Japan-Germany Friendship. Prime Minister Suga expressed his hope that Japan and Germany would cooperate in forming an international order to address challenges such as COVID-19 and climate change.
- Prime Minister Suga welcomed Germany's commitment to the Indo-Pacific region. Chancellor Merkel stated that the Indo-Pacific region is important to Germany and hoped to strengthen the bilateral cooperation including in the security field. The two leaders also engaged in a frank exchange of views on the situation in East Asia including China, Russia and others.
- Prime Minister Suga mentioned that this year is the 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and requested Germany’s cooperation on lifting the EU’s import restrictions on Japanese food products.