Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Calls for Stronger Supply Chains Against Backdrop of Growing Chinese Hegemony

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:27 JST, October 4, 2023

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday called for stronger economic cooperation between Japan and the United States, with a likely eye on China’s growing economic hegemony.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day business conference in Tokyo, Kishida stressed the importance of strengthening supply chains, among other related issues.

During the Japan-U.S. Business Conference held in Tokyo on Tuesday, the prime minister noted that both Japan and the United States are facing challenges due to a certain country’s unfair and opaque economic influences aimed at realizing that nation’s strategic interests.

In order to achieve sustainable economic growth in the Indo-Pacific region, Kishida emphasized the importance of preventing and avoiding economic coercion by establishing a supply chain that is not overly dependent on a particular country or region.

Touching upon the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP) — from which the United States withdrew in 2017 — Kishida said he hopes that Tokyo and Washington will continue to communicate and work together on economic order in the Indo-Pacific region

The prime minister also expressed a desire for the United States to return to the CPTTP.

The conference was held through Wednesday.