Japan and France have reached an agreement to begin talks on a new bilateral security pact, an official statement said on Friday.
The agreement was reached Thursday during official talks in Paris, where President Emmanuel Macron hosted visiting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Tokyo said in a statement.
The two leaders noted the multilateral development of Japan-France co-operation in the broader Asia-Pacific region and began talks on the Japan-France Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), expecting “steady progress”, the statement said.
The G7 allies have conducted numerous joint military exercises in recent years, both bilaterally and as part of a wider group. Paris has been pushing for more than a year to start negotiations on a reciprocal access agreement (RAA).
Paris and Tokyo also signed a joint declaration of co-operation on critical minerals, and Macron and Kishida agreed to strengthen economic security cooperation.
The French President and Japanese Prime Minister also discussed the situation in the Middle East, Ukraine and recent developments in the Asia-Pacific region, including China and North Korea.
The RAA is an agreement that establishes, among other things, procedures for joint activities conducted by the defence forces of one country during a visit to another. It also determines the status of visiting forces, the statement explained.
Tokyo has similar arrangements with Australia and Britain, which allow defence forces from those countries to freely visit each other’s territory for various purposes. It is expected to begin negotiations for a similar treaty with the Philippines.
In December 2023, Japan announced its largest military build-up since World War II, taking a step away from its post-war pacifism. It has already signed RAAs treaties with Australia and the UK and is negotiating a third treaty with the Philippines.
