First government consultations between Germany and Japan

Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of the federal government, and many ministers will meet in Tokyo—one of Germany's close allies in Japan.

Tokyo/Berlin - Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, travels to Japan with six other ministers to participate in the first round of government meetings between the two nations. Robert Habeck, the vice chancellor and minister of economics, Christian Lindner, the finance minister, and Annalena Baerbock, the foreign minister, are the participating cabinet members. There will be a combined plenary meeting, among other things. Together with the chancellor and ministers, a powerful economic delegation is there. This year, Japan led the G7, a group of economically robust Western democracies; Germany presided over the group in 2016.

Germany and Japan are also firmly united in response to Russia's aggression on Ukraine. Scholz had emphasised during a state visit to Tokyo in April 2022 that both nations were "side by side in preserving the rules-based international order" after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The two leaders also decided that future consultations would occur regularly between the two countries. Such government conversations have never before taken place between Japan and another nation.