On a March day in Tokyo, two aging industrial democracies, Germany and Japan, sat down to bind their economies and their defenses a little more tightly together, though neither said China's name aloud. It is a familiar human move: nations at the edge of a rising power build quiet structures of trust, in supply lines for the minerals and chips their futures depend on, and in shared readiness for the seas and skies they must keep open. Yet the gesture is tangled, because both countries still trade heavily with the very power they hedge against, and the question of whether such pledges become rea
Japan and Germany Pledge Closer Economic and Defense Ties as China's Influence Looms
Japan is in a delicate situation between the two superpowers
Mark
Why does a first round of consultations matter if the countries already talk all the time?
Mimi
Because of who showed up. Scholz brought six of his 17 Cabinet members, including defense, finance and economy. That's a whole slice of government sitting across from its Japanese counterparts.
Mark
And the supply chain pledge, what's it aimed at?
Mimi
Minerals, semiconductors, batteries. Kishida spoke of countering economic coercion and illegal technology acquisition.
Luke
But he never named China. The AP says he was apparently referring to it. That's an inference, not a statement.
Mark
Fair. What did the defense ministers actually commit to?
Mimi
Closer coordination on German deployments in the Indo-Pacific, more joint exercises, and seeking a legal framework for joint activities.
Luke
Note the word seeking. The framework doesn't exist yet. Nothing in the reporting says how long it will take or what it will cover.
Mark
Germany still trades heavily with China, though.
Mimi
China was its top trading partner in 2021, the sixth year in a row. Scholz says he wants diversification, not a complete decoupling.
Luke
So the pledges are real, but the reporting offers no figures on investment or timelines. We know the direction, not the pace.
Mark
And Japan's own position?
Mimi
Delicate. A top U.S. ally that also trades heavily with China, while building partnerships well beyond Washington.
Le Pouls
- Scholz and Kishida, at Tokyo's first government consultations, pledged to deepen economic and defense ties while China's influence hangs over every sentence.
- Kishida framed the push around countering economic coercion and illegal technology acquisition, a warning that stopped just short of naming Beijing.
- Defense ministers Hamada and Pistorius agreed to coordinate German deployments in the Indo-Pacific, expand joint exercises, and seek a legal framework for joint defense activities.
- Berlin's ties remain tangled, since China was Germany's biggest trading partner for the sixth straight year, and Japan itself must balance its U.S. alliance against its own China trade.
On a March day in Tokyo, two aging industrial democracies, Germany and Japan, sat down to bind their economies and their defenses a little more tightly together, though neither said China's name aloud. It is a familiar human move: nations at the edge of a rising power build quiet structures of trust, in supply lines for the minerals and chips their futures depend on, and in shared readiness for the seas and skies they must keep open. Yet the gesture is tangled, because both countries still trade heavily with the very power they hedge against, and the question of whether such pledges become real arrangements has not yet been answered.
On Saturday, March 18, 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida were welcomed with an honor guard at Kishida's residence in Tokyo. They opened the first round of government consultations between the two nations and agreed to draw their economic and defense lives closer together, with China's growing reach and wider security fears humming beneath the formal courtesies.
Scholz arrived with six of Germany's 17 Cabinet members, including the ministers for economy, finance, foreign affairs, defense and others, who met their Japanese counterparts across the agenda. At a joint news conference, Kishida said the two countries would strengthen supply chains in minerals, semiconductors and batteries to resist economic coercion, illegal state-led technology acquisition and non-market practices. He did not name China, though reporters understood whom he meant. The two leaders also condemned Russia's war on Ukraine, promised continued sanctions and support for Kyiv, and urged China, Russia and other nuclear powers back to disarmament talks.
In separate talks, the defense ministers confirmed that German forces will keep operating in the Indo-Pacific, coordinating future deployments, expanding joint exercises, and seeking a legal framework that would make more joint defense work possible. Their meeting reflects Japan's wider effort to reach beyond its American ally toward Australia, Britain and European and Southeast Asian partners, a shift accelerated by a new security strategy that allows long-range strike capabilities.
Berlin's position is more complicated. Scholz visited Japan before China, a sequence that signaled priority for Tokyo, and he seeks to diversify trade while resisting a full break with Beijing, which remained Germany's largest trading partner. Japan faces its own balancing act between Washington and Beijing. What comes next is whether these pledges, especially the legal framework for joint defense, become concrete arrangements.
On Saturday, March 18, 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stood through an honor guard welcome at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo. They then held the first round of government consultations between their two countries and agreed to deepen their economic and defense ties, with China's growing influence and wider security worries in the background.
Scholz did not come alone. He brought six of Germany's 17 Cabinet members, among them the ministers for economy, finance, foreign affairs, interior, transport and defense, to meet their Japanese counterparts. Germany uses this kind of "government consultations" format with several other countries. The agenda covered economic and national security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, China's assertiveness in pressing its maritime territorial claims, and Beijing's closer ties with Russia.
At a joint news conference afterward, Kishida said the two sides agreed to strengthen supply chains in minerals, semiconductors, batteries and other strategic areas. The aim, he said, was to counter economic coercion, state-led attempts to illegally acquire technology, and non-market practices. He did not name China, but the AP described the remarks as apparently referring to it. Kishida called Japan and Germany industrial nations that share fundamental values and said they need to take global leadership in strengthening the resilience of their societies. Scholz, as reported by the German news agency dpa, said the consultations would further advance strategic cooperation and give new drive to the close partnership the two want to build.
The leaders again condemned Russia's war on Ukraine. Kishida said they agreed to continue tough sanctions against Moscow and strong support for Ukraine. He also said Russia's nuclear threats have made nuclear disarmament even harder and have divided the international community, and that it is crucial to bring China, Russia and other nuclear states back to disarmament talks. Kishida advocates a world without nuclear weapons, though critics say Japan's place under the U.S. nuclear umbrella makes that stance less convincing.
In separate talks, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed that the German armed forces will keep engaging in the Indo-Pacific. They agreed to coordinate closely on future regional deployments of German forces and to step up joint exercises. They also agreed to seek a legal framework to make more joint defense activities possible, and to cooperate on defense equipment and technology, according to a statement from Japan's Defense Ministry.
The meeting fits a wider pattern in Tokyo's approach. Citing growing threats from China and North Korea, Japan has been extending military cooperation beyond its main ally, the United States, building partnerships with Australia, Britain, and European and Southeast Asian nations. Last year Kishida's government adopted a new national security strategy that includes deploying long-range cruise missiles to give Japan a strike-back capability, a major departure from the postwar principle of self-defense only.
For Berlin, the picture is more tangled. Scholz visited Japan last year before going to China, a sequence that signaled Germany was putting its economic ties with Tokyo ahead of those with Beijing. He is pushing to diversify Germany's trading partners while speaking against a complete decoupling from China. That caution has a basis in the numbers: China was Germany's biggest trading partner in 2021 for the sixth year running, even as political relations turned tense.
Japan faces its own balancing act. It is a top U.S. ally and also a major trade partner of China, and it wants to reinforce economic security with other democracies in supply chains and the protection of sensitive technologies. What to watch next is how Tokyo and Berlin turn these pledges into concrete arrangements, including the legal framework for joint defense activities.
Citations marquantes
Japan and Germany, both industrial nations that share fundamental values, need to take global leadership to strengthen resilience of our societies.— Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
The consultations will further advance strategic cooperation and give new drive to the close cooperation the two countries want to achieve (paraphrased from dpa report).— German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
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