Germany, Japan seek economic cooperation

Olaf Scholz, Germany's chancellor, left, and Fukio Kishida, Japan's prime minister, right, during a news conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. Japan and Germany vowed to deepen cooperation on defense and climate protection and work more closely together to reduce one-sided dependencies in critical areas such as raw materials. - Bloomberg

TOKYO: Germany and Japan have agreed to cooperate closely on economic security during their first ever high-ministerial government consultations, held amid tensions over global supply chains and economic disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz, accompanied to Japan by six ministers, is looking at ways to reduce German dependence on Chinese raw materials.