PM Meeting With Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida: 5 May 2022

The Prime Minister hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Downing Street this morning to discuss global security and deepening the close bilateral ties.

Both leaders agreed that Russia’s barbaric invasion marked the end of the post-Cold War period and had major implications for wider international stability.

Security in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions was indivisible, they agreed, and the G7 leaders said democracies around the world needed to stand in unity against authoritarian regimes.

Discussing the recent ballistic missile launch by North Korea, the Prime Minister condemned the provocative actions and said the UK stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Japan and our Indo-Pacific allies.

The Prime Minister praised the new in principle Reciprocal Access Agreement, an idea that was first raised between the leaders when they were foreign ministers, and said it was yet another symbol of the deepening relationship between the UK and Japan.

On the UK’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS), both leaders agreed the UK and Japan were making significant progress, and the Prime Minister welcomed Prime Minister Kishida’s view that the project could become the cornerstone of the UK-Japan bilateral relationship.

Speaking about the strong trading relationship between the UK and Japan, the Prime Minister welcomed Japanese investment across the UK, and said he had named Greg Clark MP as the UK’s new Trade Envoy to Japan to further strengthen economic links.

The leaders also agreed to deepen their research and innovation ties to develop cutting edge technologies of the future.

The Prime Minister added that he hoped the two countries should continue to use their technology prowess and investment to develop more renewables to support energy security across the world.

The Prime Minister said he was pleased Great Britain would soon lift the remaining restrictions on Fukushima food products and both leaders enjoyed popcorn from the region during the meeting.

Commenting on how aligned the UK and Japan were in their approach to global challenges, the Prime Minister said he looked forward to continuing to work closely with Prime Minister Kishida ahead of Japan’s G7 Presidency next year, and as the UK progressed its accession to the CPTPP trade bloc.