EU and Japan agree on closer cooperation

Japan and the European Union (EU) aim to further strengthen their cooperation in the areas of economic security, trade and defence. For this purpose, both sides launched a "Competitiveness Alliance" at a summit meeting in Tokyo. "We will expand our cooperation on increasing the resilience of supply chains and reducing strategic dependencies," a joint final declaration stated. At the same time, the EU and Japan emphasised the importance of promoting free trade and multilateralism.