Minister Nishimura Holds Meeting with Dr. Habeck, Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany

1. On March 18 (Sat.), the 1st Japan-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations was held in Tokyo. From the German side, Olaf Scholz, Federal Chancellor; Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Christian Lindner, Federal Minister of Finance; Annalena Baerbock, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs; Boris Pistorius, Federal Minister of Defence; Volker Wissing, Federal Minister for Digital and Transport; and Nancy Faeser, Federal Minister of the Interior and Community came to Japan to attend. From the Japanese side, Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry; Prime Minister Kishida Fumio; Hayashi Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs; Suzuki Shunichi, Minister of Finance; Hamada Yasukazu, Minister of Defense; Matsumoto Takeaki, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications; and Takaichi Sanae, Minister in charge of Economic Security, attended.

2. In addition to the IGC, bilateral ministerial meetings were held, including a meeting between Minister Nishimura and Federal Minister Habeck.

3. During the meeting between Minister Nishimura and Federal Minister Habeck, two ministers discussed the following three points with a focus on economic security and confirmed that they will follow up through existing dialog frameworks such as the Japan-Germany Vice-Minister-level Regular Consultation.
   First, in preparation for the G7 Trade Ministers' Meeting, both sides confirmed that they will work together to address economic coercion and market-distorting measures, cooperate in export control, and promote free, fair, and open trade and investment. They also confirmed that they will strengthen cooperation between Japan and Germany to build a resilient mineral resource supply chain and create a circular economy.
   Second, they discussed bilateral cooperation in digital technologies such as information and communications infrastructure including 5G and Open RAN, semiconductors and autonomous driving from the viewpoint of promoting emerging technologies. They also confirmed the need for international cooperation on DFFT in preparation for the G7 Digital and Technology Ministers' Meeting.
   Third, they discussed possible future cooperation and efforts in the areas of energy security, clean energy key transitions, and decarbonization of industry. They also confirmed the importance of pursuing diverse and realistic paths suited to each country's circumstances in order to achieve carbon neutrality. For the bilateral relationship between Japan and Germany, they also confirmed that Japan and Germany will cooperate toward the social implementation of hydrogen and other areas. In addition, they discussed efforts to develop technologies such as hydrogen reduction steelmaking and cooperation to promote the creation of an international green steel market from the perspective of decarbonizing industry. They also discussed topics regarding the automotive sector including risks in the mineral resources supply chain and the reduction of emissions by new and existing vehicles, openly exchanged views on synthetic fuels, and proposed the promotion of future information exchanges based on the aforementioned importance of diverse and realistic paths to transition.
   During the meeting, Minister Nishimura urged Federal Minister Habeck to immediately lift the EU's import restrictions on Japanese food products and asked their understanding regarding the safety of the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

4. Through the meeting, the participants agreed on a shared vision toward the G7 summit and ministerial meetings, and confirmed the importance of ensuring and strengthening economic security in both countries and the continued cooperation to strengthen Japan-Germany relations.

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Related Material

• Joint Statement for 1st Japan-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (March 18, 2023)

Division in Charge

Europe Division, Trade Policy Bureau