Foreign Visits

On April 14, State Minister HORII held meetings with Senator Bill Hagerty, Senator Rick Scott, Senator Andy Kim and Representative Diana DeGette, to exchange views on further strengthening the Japan-U.S. Alliance and reaffirmed the importance of multi-layered Japan-U.S. exchanges, including interactions between legislators.

During the meetings, State Minister HORII expressed his gratitude for the resolution adopted by the U.S. Senate in March upon Prime Minister TAKAICHI’s visit to the United States welcoming the visit and reaffirming unwavering support for the Japan-U.S. Alliance, as well as for the joint declaration issued by the United States Congressional Study Group on Japan welcoming the visit and expressing support for Japan-U.S. relations.

On April 16, the 27th annual meeting of the Japan-EU Business Round Table (BRT) was held in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. State Minister HORII delivered a keynote speechat the meeting, and the overview is as follows:

1. At this year's annual meeting, the Japanese government was represented by State Minister HORII, Mr. INO Toshiro, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Mr. AIKAWA Kazutoshi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the European Union. From the EU side, Ms. Kerstin JORNA, Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW), and His Excellency Mr. Jean-Eric PAQUET, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, were among those in attendance. From the industrial sector, representatives from both Japan and the EU were present, including the Japan-EU BRT Co-Chair Mr. ENDO Nobuhiro (Executive Advisor for NEC Corporation), and acting Co-Chair Mr. Jeremy GROSSAS (Representative Director, President of Merck Biopharma Co., Ltd.).
2. The BRT’s recommendations to the Japanese government and EU were adopted at the same meeting. Focusing on "global trade," "economic security," and "industrial competitiveness" as urgent issues affecting Japan-EU business relations, the industrial sector recommended that Japan and the EU cooperate to maintain and strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system and enhance supply chain resilience.
3. In his keynote speech, State Minister HORII stated that, given the increasingly severe geopolitical situation, it is important to further deepen strategic cooperation between Japan and the EU, recognizing that the security of the Euro‑Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific is inseparable. He then stated that Japan and the EU will work together to strengthen supply chain resilience, protect critical technologies, maintain and enhance industrial competitiveness, and address issues such as arbitrary export controlls and market distortions. He also stated that the Japanese government will take into account the recommendations adopted on this occasion as it works towards realizing a "strong economy" and "free and open Indo-Pacific."
4. On the occasion of this meeting, State Minister HORII held talks with MEP Adam BIELAN, Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Japan, MEP Miriam LEXMANN, serving on the Committee of International Trade, and Ms. Belén MARTÍNEZ CARBONELL, Secretary-General of the European External Action Service. They confirmed that Japan and the EU will continue to cooperate closely as strategic partners on common challenges facing the international community. They also exchanged views, mainly on economic security.

State Minister HORII met with Mr. Marcel Jacco De Vink (Director-General for Political Affairs (Vice Minister), Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and exchanged views on cooperation between Japan and the Netherlands in the fields of security and economic security, based on the "Japan-Netherlands Action Plan 2025" which was announced in April of last year. In particular, they confirmed the progress of the cooperation between the two countries in the areas of semiconductor, energy, and other sectors.

State Minister HORII met with the members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, Ms. Hanneke van der Werf (Member of the House of Representatives, Democrats 66), Ms. Nicole Maes (Member of the House of Representatives, People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy), Mr. Michiel Hoogeveen (Member of the House of Representatives, JA21) and Mr. Pepijn van Houwelingen (Member of the House of Representatives, Forum for Democracy) exchanged views on further developing interparliamentary exchanges based on the excellent relations between Japan and the Netherlands spanning over 400 years. In particular, State Minister HORII encouraged Netherlands side to ensure that the approval procedures in the Dutch Parliament for the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) between Japan and the Netherlands, which was signed last December, would proceed smoothly.

State Minister HORII exchanged views with representatives of Japanese companies operating in the Netherlands regarding the state of business in the Netherlands in light of the current international environment and the potential for future public-private cooperation.