#19 G-7 Summit, Japan-Australia 2-plus-2 talks, Japan-NATO ties, Decarbonization & the Supply chain challenges.
Here is a brief on biweekly( 1st-15th, June).
● Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attended the G7 summit in the UK
● On the fringes of the G7 summit, Suga held talks with counterparts from Australia, Canada, the UK and others
● The new commander of the US Indo-Pacific command Adm.John Aquilino met Suga in Tokyo
● Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi urged the European Union member states to increase the EU's military presence in Asia
● Japan-Australia held 2+2 Foreign Defence Ministerial meeting
Foreign Affairs.
G7 Summit: The leaders from the G7 nations(the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan) met in Cornwall, southwestern England for a three day G-7 summit. The meeting was also attended by guest countries such as India, Australia, South Africa and South Korea. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga expressed his strong resolve in conducting the Tokyo Olympics. Suga won the support of G-7 leaders as they agreed to send athletes for participation in the games and also in resolving North Korea’s abduction of Japanese nationals.
On the sidelines of the G-7 summit, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Britain, Australia, and Canada. Suga and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressed strong opposition to “economic coercion” in regards to the high tariffs imposed by China on Australia when the latter called for an investigation into the source of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan. Suga and Morrison welcomed the technological partnership between the countries in their fight against global warming. Also, Suga exchanged greetings with the South Korean President Moon Jae as the leaders came across each other during the summit. The US has been urging Japan and South Korea to patch up their bilateral relations which the US perceives as important in tackling China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region and security threats from North Korea. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the meeting through video conferencing by avoiding in-person participation as a COVID-19 cautionary measure.
Bilateral talks between Japan and the US: The new commander of the US Indo-Pacific command Adm.John Aquilino met Suga in Tokyo and discussed challenges faced in the Indo-Pacific region, strengthening the Japan-US security alliance to realize a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. During Aquilino’s Tokyo visit, he also met and held individual talks with Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. The key points of discussion were on the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan strait, confirmation on the transfer and stationing of US forces from Ginowan to Henoko in Okinawa prefecture. The US commander also agreed to collaborate closely with Japan over its dealings with North Korea and the Senkaku Islands.
NATO: In a foreign ministers meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken encouraged the NATO countries to deepen ties with Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea to counter the growing assertiveness of China. It might not be surprising to note that the US has placed Japan at the center of the US strategy in the Indo-Pacific region.
QUAD: Since Joe Biden assumed the US presidency the first in-person QUAD summit will likely be held in Washington. White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell said, “Our goal is to hold an in-person Quad meeting to take place here in Washington in the fall with all leaders in attendance.” The QUAD is the Quadrilateral security dialogue comprising the US, Japan, India, and Australia.
Japan-EU: In an online meeting with the European Parliament subcommittee, Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi urged the European Union member states to increase the EU's military presence in Asia. While France, Germany and Netherlands have adopted their Indo-Pacific policies, Britain recently announced the “Indo-Pacific tilt” in its Foreign Policy review document and has plans to deploy the UK Carrier Strike Group in the Indo-Pacific region. All these acts express the EU's increasing commitment in the region. In the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy, the 27-member bloc pledged to play a more active role in promoting democracy, human rights, the rule of law and respect for international law in the Indo-Pacific region.
Bilateral talks between Japan and Australia: The Japan-Australia Foreign Defence Ministerial Consultations(“2+2”) was held online. It was attended by the Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi, and their Australian counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton. The ministers discussed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan strait, deepening security cooperation, concern over the Uighur issue, and commitment towards denuclearization of North Korea.
Technology
Japan seems to have been left behind in electric car race, while the world is gearing up towards adopting the electric vehicle cars in line with the global climate change efforts. Japanese automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Honda Motor Co., have plans to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles and introduce all-electric vehicles by 2030. With a vision in place for promoting electric vehicles, the manufacturing giants are facing supply chain bottlenecks, the unpopularity of EV in the domestic market, and challenges in developing an overseas market. Globally, many semiconductor-based industries started facing chip shortage and supply chain challenges in late 2020. This has been perceived as a national security issue as China, the US and the EU are sharpening their focus on the industries. With this scenario, the Japanese government is about to approve a growth strategy, the key theme of which is to foster the domestic chip and battery sectors.
Other Stories of Interest.
Japanese defence chief calls for Taiwan Strait Stability in ASEAN meet
U.S. military helicopter lands on a small island away from Okinawa base
Japan protests Russia's impounding of a fishing boat, detention of the crew
Putin says Russia ready to continue peace treaty talks with Japan
These articles give the happening of Japan with rest of the world in a nutshell. The author is very good in compilation of the news and within few minutes you can read and equip.