Japan, France to work jointly against consequences of Russian invasion

French President Macron vowed to work together with Japan to work jointly to face the global consequences of Russia’s invasion, especially energy and food security issues. 

He stated this during a press event following Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to Paris on January 9, with key issues including North Korea and the war in Ukraine being at the forefront of their discussions, as reported by Japan Today.

Macron thanked Japan for its economic and humanitarian support to Ukraine. The two leaders also addressed North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, with Macron stating, that “Japan can count on our unfailing support to face flagrant breaches to international law from Pyongyang”.

Prime Minister Kishida announced stepped-up joint military exercises with France in the Indo-Pacific area and vowed to enhance bilateral cooperation between France and Japan, including in the fields of nuclear and renewable energy, car manufacturing and defense.

Macron and Kishida's talks come as Japan is leading the G7 block with the next G7 summit scheduled in May in Hiroshima.

Kishida has set on a five nation tour which takes him next to Italy, Britain, Canada and the US as his government adopted key security and defense reforms in December, including a counterstrike capability that breaks from an exclusively self-defense-only postwar principle.