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What the meeting was about
On Monday, the leaders of Japan and Italy announced their intention to strengthen their collaboration in the areas of security and defense. This includes working together on the joint development of a next-generation fighter jet with Britain. Japan also expressed their appreciation of Italy’s increased involvement in the Indo-Pacific region.
We welcome that Italy is increasing its presence in the Indo-Pacific region, and that many Italian warships, including an aircraft carrier strike group, are planning to call ports in Japan and conduct joint training exercises this year,
Fumio Kishida Japanese Prime Minister
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, after meeting his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, welcomed Italy’s move to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific region, where several visits by Italy’s warships, including its strike group, and joint exercises are planned this year.
During their latest meeting, the leaders of Japan and Italy agreed to cooperate towards the success of the Group of Seven (G-7) summit, which Italy is set to preside over this year. Essentially, their meeting became a handover ceremony for the G-7 presidency. The Japanese prime minister also announced that the two nations have plans to deepen their collaboration in the defense and security fields. They are set to hold the first round of foreign affairs and defense authorities consultations in March of this year.
The Defense Partnership
Japan, which is rapidly building up its military, hopes to have greater capability to counter China’s rising assertiveness while welcoming Britain’s bigger presence in the Indo-Pacific region. Italy recently left China’s global Belt and Road Initiative after apparently seeing little benefit from it.
The new consultation mechanism on security and defense will start in March, and there will be important joint military exercises, because Italy intends to have an increasingly significant presence in the Indo-Pacific,
Giorgia Meloni Italian Prime Minister
The joint fighter jet development involves Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy, Britain’s BAE Systems PLC and Italy’s Leonardo.
Meloni unveiled the nation’s plan to send the Italian Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the Cavour, the Navy’s Vespucci training ship and a fleet of its F-35 fighter jets to Japan.
In June of last year, the Italian Navy’s ITS Francesco Morosini, an offshore patrol ship, visited Yokosuka, south of Tokyo and home to the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), as part of a five-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific. It became the first Italian Navy asset to anchor at a Japanese port in 27 years.
At that time, Admiral Ryo Sakai, chief of staff of the JMSDF, and Chief of Italian Navy Admiral Enrico Credendino, agreed to work together to make the two naval services’ relationship “as strong as Romeo and Juliet” at their second meeting during last year, according to the JMSDF.
Other Notable Agreements
They also agreed to continue providing support to Ukraine and imposing strong sanctions against Russia, and to cooperate in dealing with China, which is becoming increasingly hegemonic.
During their recent meeting, the two leaders reached an agreement to collaborate towards the success of the upcoming Group of Seven (G-7) summit scheduled for June, which will be presided over by Italy this year, taking over from Japan. The meeting, in effect, served as a formal handover ceremony for the G-7 presidency.
The Prime Minister of Japan announced that the two nations have decided to deepen their collaboration in the defense and security fields. The first round of foreign affairs and defense authorities consultations has been scheduled for March of this year.
