Japan-Canada Relations
Japan-Canada Foreign Ministers' Meeting
May 3, 2021
Japan-Canada Foreign Ministers' Meeting
On May 3, commencing at 3:00 p.m. (local time; same day, 11:00 p.m. Japan time) for 30 minutes, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan held a Japan-Canada Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, while visiting the United Kingdom to attend the Meeting of G7 Foreign and Development Ministers. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Garneau said that he was pleased to meet Minister Motegi for the first time. He further stated that Canada and Japan are Indo-Pacific countries, sharing universal values such as freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, and that Canada would like to work closely together for the peace and stability of the region and the international community. In response, Minister Motegi emphasized the importance of close cooperation between the two countries and expressed his hope to further develop the relationship between Japan and Canada.
- Then, the two ministers announced the "Shared Japan-Canada Priorities Contributing to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific," (English (PDF)
/ Japanese (PDF)) and shared the view to cooperate in the following six areas towards the realization of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific advocated by both Japan and Canada.
- (1) The Rule of Law
- (2) Peacekeeping Operations, Peacebuilding, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief
- (3) Health Security and Responding to COVID-19
- (4) Energy Security
- (5) Free Trade Promotion and Trade Agreement Implementation
- (6) Environment and Climate Change
- 3. The two ministers exchanged views on regional affairs including China, North Korea and Myanmar. The two ministers exchanged views on the situation in the East and South China Seas, sharing serious concerns about recent developments regarding China, including China’s Coast Guard Law, and its persistent and strengthened attempts to change the status quo. They also shared their serious concerns about the human rights situation in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Regarding North Korea, Minister Motegi spoke highly of Canada's decision on a two-year extension of the deployment of aircraft and ships for monitoring and surveillance activities against illicit ship-to-ship transfers. Minister Motegi also asked for continued understanding and cooperation towards the immediate resolution of the abduction issue, and Minister Garneau expressed his support.
- 4. Minister Garneau expressed his support for Japan's determination to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.