March 19, 2023

Western and Japanese media have hailed the outcome that Japan and Germany reached, to strengthen economic and defense ties to "cope with" China's growing influence and global security concerns, while analysts warned that any attempt to push decoupling from China may meet with obstacles, and Japan's move to introduce more interference from the EU into Asia will drag the region into turbulence, against which regional countries should be highly vigilant. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday held the first round of government consultations in Tokyo and released a joint statement. After the meeting, Kishida told a joint news conference that the two sides agreed to strengthen supply chains in minerals, semiconductors, batteries and other strategic areas, in order to "counter economic coercion, state-led attempts to illegally acquire technology and non-market practices," the Associated Press reported.

Some Western media claimed the Japan-Germany statement was a form of cooperation to cope with the "China threat," which neglected the different attitudes that Japan and Germany have held toward China, analysts said. 

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