Japan-Canada Relations
Japan-Canada Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
April 7, 2022
On April 7, commencing at 4:30 pm (local time; 11:30 pm on April 7, Japan time) for 40 minutes, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who is visiting Belgium to attend the NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held a meeting with the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, the two ministers expressed that they were delighted to have the opportunity to meet each other in person since last December. The two ministers welcomed the close coordination between Japan and Canada including at the G7 to address issues such as the situation in Ukraine.
- The two ministers exchanged their views on the situation in Ukraine and regional issues, including China and North Korea.
- (1) The two ministers shared the view that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is a serious situation that undermines the very foundations of the entire international order, not just for Europe.
- (2) The two ministers confirmed to continue coordination on how to respond to North Korea, including in regard to the launch of ICBM-class ballistic missile on March 24th, illicit ship-to-ship transfers and the abductions issues.
- (3) The two ministers exchanged their views on various challenges related to China, and shared the view to continue their coordination.
- The two ministers then confirmed that Japan and Canada will advance concrete and strong collaboration on the six priority areas of cooperation toward the realization of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” for maintaining the free and open world order based on the rule of law.