Japan-EU Relations

Abstract

Japan and the European Union have recently made several agreements aiming to deepen their cooperation. An example of this is the “Partnership on Sustainable Connectivity and Quality Infrastructure between the European Union and Japan,” by which both EU and Japan agreed to “promote free, open, rules-based, fair, non-discriminatory and predictable regional and international trade and investment, transparent procurement practices, the ensuring of debt sustainability and the high standards of economic, fiscal, financial, social and environmental sustainability.” This is just the latest part in an effort by both to revive multilateral cooperation in the face of US withdrawal from international agreements and the rise of a more assertive China. Japan and EUs Strategic Partnership Agreement provides a legally binding framework for further cooperation in the field of politics, security, and development. Underpinning it are shared values and principles of democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. For the protection of democracy and the liberal world order, Japan and the EU seem like ideal partners. The question is whether ongoing shifts in the power balance, geopolitics, crises of liberalism, domestic politics, and legal and technological changes will lead to broader and deeper cooperation. This chapter provides a historical background to Japan-European relations from WWII until today. The relation started with a heavy emphasis on trade and business. It is only recently that the two have broadened their cooperation and now stand up as two of the strongest defenders of a liberal rule-based world order.