Overview
- Prime Ministers Sanae Takaichi and Giorgia Meloni held their first face‑to‑face meeting in Tokyo on January 16 and announced plans for a joint statement formalizing the new partnership.
- Both governments confirmed deeper cooperation on economic security, including strengthening supply chains in response to concerns about Chinese economic coercion.
- The two leaders agreed to maintain sanctions on Russia and continue support for Ukraine.
- Security coordination will expand under an agreed view that regional security in the Indo‑Pacific and the Euro‑Atlantic is indivisible, building on Japan–Italy ACSA implementation and progress in the UK‑Japan‑Italy GCAP fighter program.
- Further collaboration includes LNG contingency cooperation under a recent memorandum, a new bilateral space dialogue covering ISS missions and disaster monitoring, and Italian participation in GREEN×EXPO 2027.