Nishimura calls for stronger ties with partners

Jiji Press

10:08 JST, January 7, 2023

WASHINGTON (Jiji Press) — Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, in a speech in Washington on Thursday, stressed the need for Japan to strengthen cooperation over economic security with countries such as the United States.

“It is imperative that we strengthen our cooperation across the entire spectrum of fields with like-minded countries that share fundamental values with us” in order to ensure economic security, Nishimura said in the speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think tank.

The minister apparently raised the alarm over the rise of “authoritarian countries,” which is seen as including China and Russia. Nishimura expressed worry about the prolonged nature of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and warned against the “risk involved in relying excessively upon a specific country” for important goods such as energy, which Japan imports from Russia.