Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock met Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi in Münster on 3 November 2022 and held security policy consultations in the 2+2 format together with Minister of Defence Christine Lambrecht and her Japanese counterpart Yasukazu Hamada, both of whom joined the meeting virtually.

In the spirit of the close partnership based on mutual trust and shared values between Germany and Japan, the Ministers discussed current international issues, including Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Indo-Pacific and on the Korean Peninsula, and the role played by China. They also exchanged views on bilateral issues such as work on the countries’ respective National Security Strategies as well as intensified cooperation on arms and defence policy.