Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal agreed on Wednesday to expand bilateral ties in several areas, including the economy, security and culture.
During their meeting in Paris, the two leaders shared hopes for more people-to-people exchanges during this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris and the 2025 World Expo in Osaka.
Attal expressed his condolences over the recent death of famous Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama, saying that many French people are familiar with his works such as the “Dragon Ball” series. He mourned Toriyama’s death with a message on X.
Kishida gave Attal one kokeshi traditional Japanese wooden doll based on a character from ‘Dragon Ball’.
On Thursday, Kishida will deliver a keynote speech at a meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s council of ministers and meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Separately, Economy Minister Ken Saito and his French counterpart, Bruno Le Maire, met on Wednesday and agreed that the two countries will strengthen cooperation on the supply of crucial minerals, including rare earth elements.
Under the agreement, Japan and France will share information on supply chains and mining and smelting technologies, and promote cooperation with companies and investors to ensure a stable supply of crucial minerals.
It is crucial to build critical mineral supply chains that are resilient, strong and transparent, the two ministers said in a joint statement signed at a meeting in Paris.
Ministers agreed that Japan and France will promote business dialogue and discussions on providing aid to resource-rich countries.
Critical minerals, used in products such as batteries for electric vehicles, are becoming increasingly important in terms of economic security as only a few countries are able to produce them.
