On a brief winter stop in Tokyo, Britain's prime minister stood beside Japan's leader and pledged to draw their two countries closer in defence and trade, just after a visit to Beijing that his most powerful ally had called dangerous. It is a small moment in a larger rearrangement, where middle powers, unsure of how steady Washington will remain, are quietly building their own lines of connection with one another and with the rivals they once kept at a distance. Both nations are watching the same uncertain horizon, and the question they carry is less about any single meeting than about how muc
Britain and Japan Pledge Deeper Defence Ties as Starmer's China Outreach Draws Trump Warning
A one-day stop in Tokyo, straight off four days in Beijing
Mark
Starmer goes to China, then Japan, within days. Is that a coincidence?
Mimi
It reads as a pairing. He spent four days in Beijing, signed agreements, then stopped in Tokyo for one day to pledge deeper defence and economic ties.
Luke
Careful, though. The reporting shows the sequence, not a strategy. Nobody here says the Tokyo stop was meant to balance the China trip.
Mark
Fair. What did Trump actually say?
Mimi
On Thursday he called it "very dangerous" for Britain to deal with China. Starmer brushed it off.
Mark
And Japan's relationship with China is rough right now.
Mimi
Since November, when Takaichi suggested Japan could intervene militarily if Taiwan were attacked. China claims the island as its territory.
Luke
So Takaichi is hosting a leader who just met Xi. The article doesn't say how Tokyo feels about that.
Mark
What came out of the meeting that is concrete?
Mimi
A planned foreign and defence ministers' meeting this year, and agreement that supply chains for important minerals need strengthening urgently.
Luke
Note that the minerals point is Takaichi's account. Also, the China visa-free promise has no start date, and the fighter jet project is existing, not new news.
Mark
So what do we watch?
Mimi
Whether the ministers' meeting happens, and what happens with rare earth exports.
El Pulso
- A one-day Tokyo stop came straight off a four-day China trip, and the sequence itself is raising eyebrows.
- Donald Trump's warning that dealing with Beijing is 'very dangerous' landed on the trip like a thrown stone.
- Britain and Japan are racing to lock in supply chains for critical minerals before China's rare earth controls tighten the squeeze.
- A joint foreign and defence ministers' meeting is set for later this year, and the partnership is moving from words toward a shared fighter jet project with Italy.
On a brief winter stop in Tokyo, Britain's prime minister stood beside Japan's leader and pledged to draw their two countries closer in defence and trade, just after a visit to Beijing that his most powerful ally had called dangerous. It is a small moment in a larger rearrangement, where middle powers, unsure of how steady Washington will remain, are quietly building their own lines of connection with one another and with the rivals they once kept at a distance. Both nations are watching the same uncertain horizon, and the question they carry is less about any single meeting than about how much weight a partnership can bear when the old certainties begin to shift.
Keir Starmer stood beside Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Saturday, January 31, and said Britain and Japan had agreed to deepen their defence and economic ties. He had flown in for a single day, straight from four days in China.
The timing drew attention. Just days earlier, US President Donald Trump had said it was "very dangerous" for Britain to deal with China. Starmer waved the remark away, and in Beijing he met Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, signing agreements that included visa-free travel for British citizens staying under 30 days, with no start date yet set. He is not alone in making the journey; leaders from France, Canada and Finland have also gone to Beijing recently, reacting to Trump's push over Greenland and his tariff threats against NATO allies.
In Tokyo, Starmer stressed that Japan and Britain are leading economies within a trans-Pacific grouping and pledged a deeper partnership covering Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security. Takaichi confirmed a British-Japanese foreign and defence ministers' meeting this year and planned to discuss a free Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and Ukraine over dinner.
Japan's own ties with Beijing are strained since Takaichi suggested in November that Japan could act militarily if China attacked Taiwan. Economic security loomed large: both leaders called urgently for stronger supply chains, including critical minerals, fearing China could halt rare earth exports that power everything from electric cars to missiles. The partners already share a concrete project, a new fighter jet being developed with Italy, and the ministers' meeting and mineral supply questions are what comes next.
Keir Starmer stood beside Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Saturday, January 31, and told reporters that Britain and Japan had agreed to deepen their defence and economic ties. He had arrived that day for a one-day stop, coming straight from a four-day visit to China.
The timing mattered. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump had warned that it was "very dangerous" for Britain, a close ally, to be dealing with China. Starmer brushed the comments off. The same day, he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, and both sides spoke of the need for closer ties.
In Beijing he also signed a series of agreements. Downing Street announced that China had agreed to visa-free travel for British citizens visiting for under 30 days. No start date for that arrangement has been given.
Starmer is not the first Western leader to make the trip. Leaders from France, Canada and Finland have all gone to Beijing in recent weeks. The reporting describes them as recoiling from Trump's push to seize Greenland and his tariff threats against NATO allies, and as looking to counter an increasingly volatile United States.
In Tokyo, Starmer pointed out that Japan and Britain are the leading economies in a trans-Pacific grouping that includes fellow G7 member Canada, along with other international trade and defence pacts. "We set out a clear priority to build an even deeper partnership in the years to come," he said after the bilateral meeting. That, he added, includes working together on collective security across the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific.
Takaichi said the two had agreed to hold a meeting of British and Japanese foreign and defence ministers this year. She also planned to raise cooperation toward a free and open Indo-Pacific, the Middle East situation and the Ukraine situation over dinner with Starmer that evening.
Japan's own relationship with Beijing is strained. Ties have deteriorated since November, when Takaichi suggested Japan could intervene militarily in the event of an attack on Taiwan. China regards the self-ruled democratic island as its territory.
Economic security was a main topic. Takaichi said the two leaders agreed that strengthening supply chains, "including important minerals," is urgently needed. The worry is that Beijing could choke off exports of rare earths, which are essential for everything from electric cars to missiles. China is the world's leading producer, and it announced new export controls on rare earths and related technologies in October. Those minerals have also been a major sticking point in trade talks between China and the United States.
The defence relationship already has a concrete project. Britain, Japan and Italy are developing a new fighter jet, a notable step for Tokyo, which relied on the United States for military hardware for decades. The ministers' meeting planned for this year and the question of critical-mineral supply chains are the next things to watch.
Citas Notables
We set out a clear priority to build an even deeper partnership in the years to come.— Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister
Strengthening supply chains, including important minerals, is urgently needed.— Sanae Takaichi, Japan's Prime Minister
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