As part of a tour of Europe, Japan¡Çs Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made his first official visit to the UK on January 9 and 10. During his stay, he held summit talks with Prime Minister Blair. Later he also met Mr James Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Mr David Cameron, the Leader of the Conservative Party.
Mr Abe and Mr Blair agreed that Japan and the UK were on course to even closer ties, and that, as strategic partners with common goals and responsibilities, they would cooperate to tackle global issues. Looking to the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year, they issued the Japan-UK Joint Statement.
Prime Minister Abe declared that Japan had a responsibility to maintain a ¡Èfree and prosperous¡É world. He stated that Japan would strengthen its cooperation with the UK and that the two countries would address issues of global significance together. Prime Minister Blair reaffirmed the strong ties between the two nations and expressed support for Japan's endeavours in the international community. Recognising the importance of Japan's influence in Asia, he voiced his wish to strengthen ties with Japan. The two leaders also agreed to work together towards strengthening Japan's links with NATO and stepping up the level of dialogue between Japan and the EU.
Mr Abe and Mr Blair exchanged views on the situation in East Asia. Regarding North Korea, Prime Minister Abe stressed the importance of the early resolution of the abduction issue and thanked the UK for helping to bring about the UN resolution on human rights. He also characterised Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programme as a major challenge to the global non-proliferation regime and underlined the crucial need for the international community to work together to solve this matter. Mr Blair expressed his total support for Japan's position on these issues, and promised to cooperate in the search for solutions.
Responding to Mr Abe's expression of gratitude for the UK's support of Japan's campaign for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, Mr Blair commented that the Security Council would struggle to retain long-term credibility without Japan as a permanent member and that the UK would cooperate energetically in efforts to reform that body.
On the subject of climate change and energy, Prime Minister Blair said Japan had played an important role in terms of the Kyoto Protocol and that this was also an important issue in the context of the G8 process. Prime Minister Abe declared that Japan was giving its utmost attention to saving energy and placed great importance on developing the relevant technology. He looked forward to pursuing cooperation with the UK in this area.
As for Iraq, Prime Minister Abe expressed his hope that the Iraqi Government would succeed in overcoming challenges in the area of security and looked forward to it becoming a stable country. He affirmed Japan's intention to continue its cooperation in the form of transportation provided by the Air Self Defence Forces as well as to keep on providing yen loans and work towards the completion of the Iraq Compact. He also vowed closer cooperation with the reconstruction efforts in the Basra region led by the UK. Prime Minister Blair highly praised Japan's role in Iraq and expressed the view that the two countries would continue working together to achieve stability there.
In the Joint Statement, the two leaders agreed to step up their cooperation on: firstly, promoting international security, including issues such as Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East peace process and human rights abuses in North Korea; secondly, tackling climate change; thirdly, commitment to Africa¡Çs development and the Millennium Development Goals; and finally, achieving their goals in science, technology and innovation. In order to review progress towards attaining these goals, the two leaders agreed to hold an annual summit meeting.
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