Japan and EU: old allies, new challenges

I participated this week in a Mission of the European Parliament to Japan, where formal meetings with representatives of the two chambers of the Japanese parliament and members of the Japanese government.
Tokyo received us with the elegant serenity that is characteristic of him. For two intense days, European and Japanese parliamentarians have sat face to face-not as strangers to look for contact points, but as old allies to rediscover the value of a strategic friendship, now testing by a rapid change world.
Japan is not any partner for the EU. It is, in fact, one of its oldest and most consistent allies in Asia. From the Free Trade Agreement signed in 2019-one of the largest bilateral commercial pacts in the world-to the EU-Japan strategic partnership, signed more recently, the two blocks have been consolidating a relationship based on common values, shared economic interests and a careful reading of the present geopolitical tensions. But it is no longer enough to be a partnership based on common democratic values ​​- it needs to produce tangible effects on security, defense, and economic resilience.
Interestingly, Japan, with its pacifist constitution of the postwar, has been approaching a new posture in defense. Former Prime Minister Kishida had already announced plans to double the defense budget by 2027, and current Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba argues that there is a redoubled interest in collaborations with Europe in this field, with the awareness that no country can defend themselves alone. Parliamentarians do not hide curiosity (and moderate enthusiasm) with the possibilities of technological and military cooperation.
One of the most sensitive – but inevitable – points of the interparlation dialogue was the parallelism between the Ukraine invasion of Russia and the situation of Taiwan, in the face of China’s threats. For Japan, Taiwan’s physical and strategic proximity transforms this issue into a national security priority. For Japan, Taiwan is more than a neighbor. It is a front line in a geopolitical scenario in which China assumes an increasingly assertive, if not openly aggressive stance. The archipelago is scarce 100 kilometers from the southernmost Japanese islands, and any destabilization in that region would have immediate effect on the Japanese security and economy.
Japanese representatives were unanimous about the Chinese threat – both in the military level, with the increase in naval and flyfish exercises in the Taiwan Strait, as well as the political plane, with an increasingly revisionist narrative of Beijing over his ‘historical law’ to the island.
The Indo-Pacific today represents the center of geopolitical gravity of the 21st century. This is where much of the balance between democracy and authoritarianism is played, between free trade and economic coercion, between sea stability and military tension. It is also the two -thirds house of the world’s population and some of the most crucial trade routes for the European economy.
The message that came out of these meetings was clear: Asia’s security is not a distant subject to Europe. In an interdependent international order, what happens in Taipei resonates in Kiev – and Brussels.
Despite the tone of unity, the economic theme brought tensions. The announced increase in commercial tariffs by US administration, especially in the automotive sector, is a matter of concern. There are shared fears about the growing unpredictability of markets that were even stable – with the US included. But this is where an important nuance arises: the Japanese look at the United States not only as an administration, but as a civilizational partner. Political changes in Washington worry, of course – but do not shake the fundamental pillar of the transatlantic alliance. Still, the feeling that it is time to reinforce strategic autonomy is stronger than ever – not to cut ties with Washington, but to ensure its own ability in an unpredictable world.
The interparring conference in Japan left a certainty: there is a historic window of opportunity to consolidate an alliance between two of the world’s greatest industrial democracies. The European Union and Japan have not only common interests – they have an intertwined geopolitical destination that is drawn with the shadows of war, but also with the light of innovation and diplomacy.

MEP CDS