European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated on Thursday at a joint press conference with European Council President Charles Michel and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that Brussels and Tokyo are "closer than ever" and called for the strengthening of the cooperation in economy and security.
"So I believe that we have a lot to gain from working together on this topic. We share similar dependencies. We both see the need to de-risk our supply chains," von der Leyen said. "So one of our objectives is to reduce overreliance on a handful of suppliers – many of them based in China – for products that are vital for our economies."
Von der Leyen also reaffirmed the European Union and Japan's joint approach toward achieving peace in Ukraine and stability in the India-Pacific region.