LONDON - The leaders of Japan and Britain agreed Sunday to promote collaboration on economic security and new technologies at their meeting in London, as Tokyo seeks to strengthen strategically important areas including critical minerals supply chains, energy and defense.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also pledged in her meeting with British counterpart Keir Starmer to invest over 9 billion pounds ($12 billion) in infrastructure and financial services and up to 9 billion pounds in offshore wind power projects, a joint statement said.
Takaichi met Starmer for their in-person talks after hosting him in Tokyo in January. On X, she praised the relationship with Britain, writing that it has reached a level that could be described as that of "quasi-allies" and vowing to "continue upgrading Japan-U.K. relations to even greater heights."
According to Downing Street, Starmer welcomed the significant new investment in Britain that was agreed upon during the meeting, which is expected to create jobs, deepen the countries' ties in renewable energy and strengthen British energy security in the wake of the Strait of Hormuz crisis.
Regarding defense, Takaichi and Starmer agreed to speed up the development of the next-generation fighter aircraft being produced through a joint program between Japan, Britain, and Italy, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry. The like-minded countries are seeking stronger cooperation amid rising security threats, including those from Russia and North Korea.
Their "Joint Declaration on Economic Security Cooperation" was accompanied by the "Japan-UK Frontier Technology Partnership" which covers artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, defense, space, robotics, civil nuclear collaboration and cybersecurity among others.
Keeping an eye on cooperation in key industries, the two attended a business roundtable where memoranda of understanding were signed between Japanese and British firms in areas including nuclear energy and cybersecurity as well as a deal on semiconductors between Japan's Rapidus Corp. and the UK Semiconductor Centre, an industry promotion body.
Rapidus said it will start sharing information and holding discussions with the aim of strengthening future collaborations in chip manufacturing.
Economic security is one of the major themes of Takaichi's European trip which also includes a visit to Italy before attending the three-day Group of Seven summit beginning Monday in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains.
Takaichi has been keen on strengthening international cooperation in strengthening supply chains of critical minerals in the face of China's export restrictions on such resources essential to the production of technology products including defense equipment.
China has tightened restrictions since early this year on exports to Japan of dual-use items, possibly including rare earths, following Takaichi's parliamentary remarks in November suggesting that an attack on Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China, could prompt a response by Japan's defense forces.
"We express our grave concerns regarding economic coercion and arbitrary export restrictions, including on critical minerals," the statement said.
After the meeting, a photo was posted to social media showing Starmer and Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister, looking at a photograph of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street. Takaichi counts Thatcher, her country's first female prime minister, as a political idol.
