While I was in Japan this August on my first trip outside Europe as Foreign Minister, there was one encounter, a reunion as it were, that has remained particularly vivid in my memory. In Osaka, at Expo 2025, I met again with a long-standing Japanese friend, Kōno Yōsuke. I know him because he spontaneously showed us the way when my family and I were on a private trip to Japan a few years ago. We were standing on the street, trying to work out where to go. Yōsuke approached us and asked if he could help. And then he accompanied us around Osaka. We swapped email addresses and have stayed in touch ever since. Sometime later he got quite a shock when he discovered that I was a politician. And a little later still, he got an even bigger shock when he discovered that I had become Germany’s Foreign Minister!

Back when we first met, he told me that his greatest wish was to become a firefighter. I told him that was a good aim in life, and that he should pursue it further. Today, he is a professional firefighter and was at Expo 2025 in this vital capacity. When we met there, we noted that our professions aren’t as different as they would seem: we’re usually called on when there’s a fire – and it needs putting out fast.

I personally have a strong connection to Japan, as does my family – even more so than our 160 years of diplomatic relations would suggest. That’s why it was so important to me to go to Japan on my first trip to Asia and to accept your kind invitation to the Japanese-German Center Berlin.

Ladies and gentlemen, our world is undergoing profound change. Decades-old certainties no longer hold true, what we know as multilateralism is under pressure.

The same is true of our democracies. China and Russia are trying to reshape the international order, which is based on international law. Russia is testing our resolve in NATO and is threatening us directly. It is violating our airspace and spying on our critical infrastructure. It is trying to poison our democratic discourse with fake news and cheap propaganda. China is spreading a narrative around the world according to which it defends multilateralism and multilateral institutions. In reality, it tolerates North Korea's circumvention of sanctions. In reality, China ignores the law of the sea in the South China Sea. And China supports Russia's aggression against Ukraine – partly to justify its own hegemonic ambitions.

At the same time, we are seeing in Japan and Germany how populist movements are doing everything they can to attack our democratic values from within. They do this by promoting supposedly simple solutions and dividing our societies.

The fact is that freedom, security and prosperity – the foundations of our democratic societies in Japan and Germany – can no longer be taken for granted. This is a horrifying reality, but it is a reality that we must face up to. A reality in which we, as democracies, can and must stand together. In Germany and Europe, as in Japan and the Indo-Pacific. This is because, as Germany and Japan, as partners, as like-minded nations and as friends, we are united by core values and goals: A commitment to democracy and upholding international law. To free and rules-based trade. To peace, stability and territorial integrity.

During my trip to Japan, we held numerous discussions during which we decided to further intensify our friendly cooperation in this geopolitical environment. The focus was on three points:

Firstly, as economically strong democracies and partners sharing common values, we want to and indeed must strengthen the international order based on international law. This we can do by working closely together as G7 partners, but also within the framework of the United Nations, to strengthen multilateralism – and to preserve it, as must also be said at the present time. We know – and this is good news – that many other like-minded countries in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are on our side.

Secondly, given their similar historical experiences, it is not surprising that Japan and Germany have traditionally taken a cautious view of the role of the military. But when we look at the situation today, in the Indo-Pacific and in Europe, and see the threats to our security, we fully agree that we must take greater responsibility for our security. This is because German and Japanese security interests are closely linked – even though Berlin and Tokyo are 9000 kilometres apart. Our countries are located on the western and eastern flanks of an emerging Chinese-Russian bloc.

The enormous increase in China's presence in the waters around Japan, as well as its robust military posturing in the Taiwan Strait, not only pose a threat to security in the Indo-Pacific, but also undermine the entire international rules-based order. Conversely, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine affects not only the European peace order, but also the Indo-Pacific security architecture. Ultimately, it is also North Korean troops and weapons, as well as China's crucial support, that are keeping the Russian war machine and the war of aggression against Ukraine – against the whole of Europe – going. With the corresponding quid pro quo from Russia.

This nexus between our Indo-Pacific and European security is also the reason why Japan has already contributed 12 billion euro to support Ukraine. And it’s why we are engaged in the Indo-Pacific with the German Navy and Air Force. To fly a flag for freedom of the seas and for international law. We will continue along this path together, as we discussed in August. The visit of Japanese F15 jets to Rostock in September was another milestone.

The third point in our discussions was our shared conviction that free trade – when conducted fairly – creates greater prosperity for all. That growth can be achieved through cooperation. Germany and Japan are export nations and industrial nations. As such, we depend on stable and secure trade relations and a rules-based economic order – two cornerstones of our prosperity that are under global threat. More and more countries are exploiting economic dependencies for their geopolitical goals. Military conflicts are endangering important trade routes. And that is why we seek to – and must – achieve even more together. Together, we want to support the diversification of our economies, reduce critical dependencies and counter geoeconomic risks.

The German-Japanese partnership is also of great economic importance. Japan is Germany's second-largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region and an inspiration for innovation in this country. I was once again particularly impressed by the bullet train journey from Tokyo to Osaka. With up to 120 services per pay and speeds of 300 km/h, there’s still a lot we can learn from Japan. This is particularly true when it comes to economic security, an area in which Japan is ahead of us. During my talks in Japan, we therefore agreed that we want to continue doing our utmost to champion open markets and fair competition. And that we will cooperate even more closely economically, especially in strategic areas such as the supply of semiconductors and secure telecommunications. I am certain that the second round of the German-Japanese Economic Security Dialogue taking place today in Tokyo will provide decisive impetus towards jointly reducing economic dependencies.

But, ladies and gentlemen, it is also clear that all this work at political level will not be enough to strengthen our democratic freedom, nurture our friendship and give each other strength if we do not carry our societies with us. For 40 years, the Japanese-German Center Berlin has been making an important contribution to precisely this. To promoting this mutual understanding. Here in Dahlem, you act as builders of bridges between our societies. You create space for dialogue and exchange, and foster German-Japanese friendship by bringing it to participants from all walks of life. From individual language courses and exchange programmes to scientific symposia, from calligraphy courses and cultural events to German-Japanese cooperation in space – since its foundation in 1985, the Japanese-German Center Berlin has made a decisive contribution at all levels to deepening the friendly, lively and diverse relations between Germany and Japan.

Special thanks go to the Center's operational management team, Dr Münch and Mr Matsumoto, for their passionate and forward-looking commitment, as well as to Land Berlin and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their financial support. I am proud that we, too, as the Federal Foreign Office, make a contribution.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is places like the Japanese-German Center Berlin that keep the bond between our two countries alive and fill our political relations with life at civil society level. The German-Japanese partnership is a long success story – let us continue it together in the coming decades, while also tackling challenging issues!

Here's to the next 40 years full of enriching encounters and mutual understanding. Here's to us standing together in these turbulent times, not only as firefighters, in the real or metaphorical sense, but above all as friends.

Arigatou Gozaimasu – thank you for your great commitment and for your hospitality today.