April 26, 2019

If he hadn't been speaking Japanese, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe could easily have been mistaken for an EU leader.

Visiting Brussels on Thursday to meet Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Council President Donald Tusk, Abe seemed to sing all the favorite tunes from the EU songbook. He fiercely defended the need for a free and fair international trading system, spoke out in favor of liberal democratic ideals, including human rights and the rule of law, called for protecting the environment, for nuclear disarmament of North Korea, and for avoiding a no-deal Brexit "by all means."

Abe also pointedly declared that Japan shares the EU's concerns and goals regarding China, particularly its Belt and Road Initiative, and he sent subtle but clear signals that Tokyo stands with Brussels against the economic protectionism being pursued by U.S. President Donald Trump, and would likely push back if Washington seeks to initiate a trade war by levying further unilateral tariffs.

Read more:

https://www.politico.eu/article/eus-best-western-ally-is-now-in-the-east/