EU-Japan relations: Council info and EU publications

Japan has been cultivating good relations with Europe, including the European Union and non-member states, for decades. Although its primary focus has been on the US in the post-war period for security, and on East Asia for trade and investment in the post-Cold War era, both economic and latterly security relations with Europe have developed steadily and towards greater cooperation.

Japan announced important changes to its defence policy, including a strong rise in its defence expenditure in the period up to 2027.

This report assesses the current state of the EPA implementation as well as Japan’s compliance with the agreement.

After the domestic legal processes to ratify the Agreement on both sides were completed, the EPA entered into force on 1 February 2019. While the EPA concerns economic activities regarding a wide variety of goods and services, this report focuses on its impact on the market for leather products, with particular attention to finished leather goods such as leather bags and footwear.

This policy brief develops the argument for strengthening cooperation between the EU and Southeast Asia in the field of digital connectivity and considers the added value of working with Japan as a like-minded partner in this part of the Indo-Pacific.

The Japan-EU Digital Partnership will advance cooperation on digital issues to foster economic growth and a human-centric digital transformation based on our common values. It will be a flexible cooperation instrument that goes beyond dialogue and exchange of information between Japan and the EU with the view to deliver concrete deliverables in line with the digital compass.

The European Union and Japan are the largest economies consistently committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which cause global warming, and to promoting renewable energy.

The purpose of this initiative is to develop smart living environments for an ageing society in conjunction with partners in Japan.

This Handbook provides step-by-step guides on entering the agri-food market in Japan including relevant information such as analysis of the Japanese market for different product categories, market access and market entry procedures, IP protection, referrals to professional buyers and a signposting and referral system providing useful contacts and ways to penetrate the Japanese market.

In the past five years, this European Commission has negotiated and concluded more trade agreements than in any comparable period. Notably, the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement entered into force – our biggest deal ever.

Like the EU, Japan has identified ‘a multipolar age’ in which the rules-based international order that has allowed it to prosper is increasingly threatened. In line with its security-related reforms, Japan has decided to ‘take greater responsibilities and roles than before in order to maintain the existing international order’ and resolve a number of global issues.

This report independently assesses the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.

In this state of intense geopolitical uncertainty, an economic partnership like the one concluded between the EU and Japan surpasses mere business interests. It is a vow of collaboration between democracies and advanced economies that have among the world’s highest environmental, regulatory and social standards.

The Delegation of the European Union to Japan represents the EU in Japan.

Factsheet on the EU-Japan Strategic Partnership.

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and Japan enters into force on 1 February 2019. Businesses and consumers across Europe and in Japan can now take advantage of the largest open trade zone in the world.

The EU and Japan have concluded an Economic Partnership Agreement (hereafter ‘EPA’), which entered into force on 1 February 2019. Together with a more general Strategic Partnership Agreement, provisionally applied since the same date, it has become the cornerstone of an enhanced relationship between the EU and Japan.

An outline of the relations between the European Union (EU) and Japan. Information on the delegation of the European Union to Japan.

The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) provides comprehensive research and analytical support to the Members of the European Parliament, its parliamentary committees and the European Parliament as a whole. Links to EPRS Think Tank papers on EU-Japan relations.