Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio will be visiting fellow G7 countries next week, making a stop in Canada on Jan. 12 to discuss issues such as trade and security, whether regional or in relation to Ukraine.
Fumio will first visit France, Italy, and the United Kingdom before arriving in Canada and then going to the U.S. to meet with President Joe Biden.
“Through this visit, Prime Minister Kishida intends to confirm cooperation for the success of the G7 Hiroshima Summit under Japan’s presidency this year, and confirm further collaboration between likeminded countries by deepening security cooperation with these countries which have been strengthening interest and engagement in the Indo-Pacific,”
says a statement from the Japanese foreign ministry.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in announcing the visit said the two countries share “values, and deep ties between our people.”
The
statement from the Prime Minister’s Office says these shared values include a “vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific and further strengthening bilateral trade, investment, and innovation to grow our economies and benefit people in both countries.”
The visit comes after Canada unveiled its Indo-Pacific Strategy in late November, with a pledge of $2.2 billion in investments over the next five years and a recognition of growing security challenges in the region.
“Our neighbourhood, alongside Japan and South Korea, is facing real security threats from North Korea that continues reckless missile launches and from China who continues to challenge international norms,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly
said at the time.
Canadian and Japanese high-level bureaucrats held bilateral economic talks on Dec. 22 and 23, with the Japanese side reportedly expressing satisfaction with Canada’s strategy.
“The Japanese side welcomed the announcement of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, which demonstrates Canada’s strong commitment to increasing its presence, engagement, and influence in the Indo-Pacific region,”
says a joint statement.
China could naturally be seen to be a more direct and present issue for Japan, but Canada and Japan have been affected by the same national sovereignty issue in recent months.
Illegal Chinese police stations have been reported in both countries, with Japan’s foreign ministry
indicating in late November that it lodged a protest through diplomatic channels.
Ottawa has also lodged complaints with China’s ambassador,
according Global Affairs Canada.
Along with discussing regional security, the two countries also said discussing Ukraine would be on the agenda for the visit.
Japan has been supporting Ukraine in some capacity, but has not been providing weapons like its G7 counterparts, in line with its less belligerent foreign policy dating back to its defeat in World War II.
Its latest measures announced were to help with winterization and the generation of electricity, including through providing
generators and solar
lanterns.
Kishida’s visit to Canada will be his first since taking office in 2021.
He is from the Liberal Democratic Party which has ruled Japan for most of the past decades and can be considered centre-right, but his broader economic vision is in line with that of Trudeau.
Kishida has criticized capitalism using a theme promoted by
world and
finance leaders.
“Capitalism isn’t sustainable unless it is something that belongs to all stakeholders,” he
said last year, reported Bloomberg.
Trudeau has
touted building an “economy that works for all Canadians,” in part through government programs.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
