Japan-United Kingdom Relations
Japan-UK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
November 3, 2022
On November 3, commencing at 5:30 p.m. (local time; November 4, 1:30 a.m. JST) for approximately 25 minutes, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who is visiting Germany to attend the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting, held a meeting with the Rt Hon James CLEVERLY MP, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Hayashi congratulated Secretary Cleverly’s reappointment, and stated that he would like to work together with Secretary Cleverly to further deepen Japan-UK relations, which is more robust than ever. In response, Secretary Cleverly stated that he attached importance to Japan-UK relation and that he would like to collaborate with Japan in various areas.
- The two ministers welcomed that Japan-UK relations are being strengthened in a range of areas and concurred to coordinate their views and enhance their collaboration on strategic challenges through various opportunities. The two ministers also reaffirmed the importance of an early signature of Japan-UK Reciprocal Access Agreement as well as reaching a mutual understanding regarding the future combat air system.
- The two ministers affirmed the importance of addressing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine under the continued collaboration of the G7. They shared the view that Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons is absolutely unacceptable, and that Russia should never use nuclear weapons under any circumstances. The two ministers also exchanged views on regional affairs in East-Asia and have affirmed to continue to work together.