German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Visit Japan for Intergovernmental Talks on March 18

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:02 JST, March 10, 2023

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and a delegation of German ministers are planning to hold talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and members of his Cabinet in Japan on March 18, it has been learned.

The talks will be the first meeting between Japan and Germany under a so-called intergovernmental consultative framework.

Final arrangements are being made for a joint statement that will include measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation on economic security, among other areas, according to government sources.

Kishida and Scholz are also planning to hold summit talks to confirm their cooperation ahead of the Group of Seven summit meeting in Hiroshima in May, the sources said.

Germany has intergovernmental consultative frameworks with Spain, China and India, among other nations it sees as strategically important.

Economic security is expected to be the main topic in the Japan-Germany talks.