Borrell hails EU-Japan security deal

The European Union and Japan have signed a broad-ranging security pact, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has announced following his visit to Tokyo.

Borrell signed the Japan-EU Security and Defence Partnership with his Japanese counterpart Iwaya Takeshi on Friday. The top diplomat is on a tour that is expected to include South Korea in the coming days, Brussels has announced.

“Japan and the EU are strengthening their ties and building a more secure future for our citizens, our regions, and the rest of the world,” Borrell wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

He described the partnership as “the first agreement of this nature” that Brussels has made with any Asia-Pacific state, calling it a “historical and very timely step given the situation in both of our regions.”

The deal will come into effect January 1 2025.

The defense agreement will guide the development of security policies in the future, according to a copy of the document published on the Japanese Foreign Ministry website.

The deal promises future cooperation between Japan and the EU in economic, maritime and space security. In addition, both sides will deepen collaboration against information and cyber threats, as well as “foreign information manipulation and interference.”

Among other points, the agreement touches on “consultations on non-proliferation, disarmament, conventional arms,”including preventing the spread of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.

Former defense minister and newly elected Prime Minister of Japan Ishiba Shigeru has been a vocal proponent of forming a NATO-style bloc in Asia. Last month, prior to his election, he suggested that such a military grouping “must specifically consider America’s sharing of nuclear weapons or the introduction of nuclear weapons into the region.” The Asian version of NATO would serve as a deterrent against China, Russia and North Korea, he said.