The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will travel to Tokyo on 12 May for a summit with the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida.
The subject of the war in Ukraine will be an important part of the discussions. Leaders want to address future cooperation in this context, for example the alignment of sanctions.
Since the war began, Tokyo has imposed a series of sanctions on Russia, ranging from asset freezes to Russia’s withdrawal from the SWIFT system. Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Hoichi Hagiuda, however, said on Thursday 5 May that it would be difficult for his country to impose an embargo on Russian oil “due to Japan’s limited resources”.
The summit should also be an opportunity to discuss ways of providing humanitarian, political, financial and material assistance to Ukraine.
The EU sees Japan as a partner that shares its values, with whom it wishes to strengthen cooperation in general. Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel will discuss with Fumio Kishida the following topics: security and defence, connectivity partnership, digital, trade, climate, food and energy security and the removal of travel restrictions.
They are expected to adopt a joint declaration at the end of the summit. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)