A summit between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Tokyo focusing on economic security could take place on Oct. 28 at the earliest, diplomatic sources from both countries said.
The leaders are expected to agree to bolster supply chains for semiconductors and critical minerals, issuing a joint document on cooperation in developing and producing defense equipment including drones, the sources said.
The meeting comes as both sides are seeking to reduce their dependence on China. Japan is eyeing cooperation with other countries on critical minerals including rare earths as it faces export controls by Beijing amid worsening ties, while Germany has become wary of China’s influence on its economy.
Both countries are also stepping up their defense capabilities in response to an increasingly uncertain global security environment, with the leaders expected to use the meeting to expand cooperation between their defense industries.
Japan under Takaichi, a national security hawk, plans to make large-scale acquisitions of unmanned aircraft a central part of revisions to its three key security policy documents expected later this year, while Germany is strengthening its defense capabilities amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
