Overview

• German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul opened his Tokyo visit by criticizing China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the Taiwan Strait and East and South China Seas.
• He will meet Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and key economic officials before delivering a speech at a peace foundation.
• Wadephul emphasized that free sea lanes and resilient global supply chains are vital for export-oriented economies like Germany and Japan.
• He linked Chinese and North Korean support for Russia in its war against Ukraine to shared security threats and thanked Japan for its sustained assistance to Kyiv.
• He called for Germany and Japan to boost defense spending and build trade relations based on fair competition to counter market-distorting practices.