Japan-U.S alliance to collaborate for decarbonization goals

F.P Report       

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi reaffirmed the vital importance of the U.S.-Japan Alliance as the cornerstone of peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world during Secretary Blinken’s visit to Tokyo, on March 16th.

The press statement highlights, Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Motegi welcomed their continued cooperation on maritime security, the denuclearization of the DPRK and the resolution of the abductions issue, and other security issues as stated in the Joint Statement of the Security Consultative Committee (2+2). 

The Secretary and the Foreign Minister also condemned the coup and use of violence in Burma, expressed concern over the expansion of authoritarian and aggressive actions by the People’s Republic of China, and agreed to strengthen like-minded coordination across these issues, it added.

Deepening U.S.-Japan economic cooperation is a key priority for both governments.  Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Motegi highlighted our close cooperation and continued progress in promoting a Free and Open Indo-Pacific with regard to economic issues, pledging to deepen U.S.-Japan coordination in the areas of climate change, clean energy, cybersecurity, supply chains, and COVID-19, the statement highlights .

The United States and Japan commit to enhancing cooperation on climate ambition and decarbonization in the lead up to the April 22 Leaders’ Climate Summit, COP26, and beyond, it added. The two sides will work towards achieving their 2050 net zero goals and 2030 targets aligned with these 2050 goals, the press release underlined.

Regarding the contemporary need of ‘clean energy’ the United States and Japan will leverage existing bilateral and regional mechanisms and continue close U.S.-Japan interagency cooperation to meet our shared decarbonization and climate change goals with partners in the Indo-Pacific region, the statement underlined.

It further mentioned that both countries also commit to discussing ways to expand the adoption and deployment of clean energy technologies to regional partners in an affordable and effective manner through close coordination among U.S. and Japanese agencies and the private sector.

Other than this, the statement mentioned that the United States and Japan will strengthen the current U.S.-Japan Cyber Dialogue to redouble our efforts on cooperation and information sharing related to cyber threats, as well as collaboration to hold states accountable when they engage in significant malicious cyber activity that violates the framework for responsible state behavior in cyberspace. 

The United States and Japan can also strengthen cooperation on capacity building programs with countries in the Indo-Pacific region.  Both countries also will work together to advance responsible state behavior in cyberspace in conjunction with like-minded members of the international community, it added.

Furthermore the United States and Japan will engage bilaterally through interagency dialogue on shared priorities to enhance supply chain resilience in sectors of mutual interest to the United States and Japan in view of the “Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains” signed on February 24, it said.

Leveraging the bilateral dialogue, the United States and Japan will also explore ways to engage with industry and to expand future regional cooperation, the statement added.

The United States and Japan pledge to leverage our close collaboration and joint response to COVID-19 to further assist partners globally to help fight the pandemic and work towards a sustainable, resilient, and green recovery. 

Both countries recognized their strong support to the multilateral efforts of the WHO, Gavi, and COVAX, and will especially seek greater opportunities for joint health security cooperation to bolster capacity in the region with partners like ASEAN, the statement mentioned.

Mentioning QUAD, it added that under the auspices of the QUAD meeting, the United States and Japan have reaffirmed their commitment to expanding global vaccine manufacturing and supporting vaccination for people in need in the Indo-Pacific.