If he hadn’t been speaking Japanese, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe could easily have been mistaken for an EU leader.
Visiting Brussels on Thursday to meet Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Council President Donald Tusk, Abe seemed to sing all the favorite tunes from the EU songbook. He fiercely defended the need for a free and fair international trading system, spoke out in favor of liberal democratic ideals, including human rights and the rule of law, called for protecting the environment, for nuclear disarmament of North Korea, and for avoiding a no-deal Brexit “by all means.”
Abe also pointedly declared that Japan shares the EU’s concerns and goals regarding China, particularly its “Belt and Road” Initiative, and he sent subtle but clear signals that Tokyo stands with Brussels against the economic protectionism being pursued by U.S. President Donald Trump, and would likely push back if Washington seeks to initiate a trade war by levying further unilateral tariffs.
Noting a meeting that took place Thursday between the leaders of Russia and North Korea, Abe said, “We again agreed to closely cooperate to realize a complete, verifiable and irreversible abandonment of all weapons of mass destruction and all ballistic missiles of all ranges by North Korea.”
On Brexit, Abe stressed that many Japanese companies had invested in Britain as a member of the European Union and they are now being forced to reassess.
“A no-deal Brexit is what we have to avoid by all means,” he said, noting that Japanese companies need legal stability in order to maintain their business operations in the U.K. “For Japan, the U.K. is the gateway to Europe,” he said, adding: “So a smooth Brexit is what we are hoping for.”
Asked about China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Abe laid out a list of requirements nearly identical to those voiced by Tusk and Juncker during a meeting two weeks ago with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.
“It is expected that the Belt and Road Initiative will positively contribute to regional and global stability by incorporating concepts common to international standards, such as infrastructure openness, transparency, economic viability and financial soundness of recipient countries,” Abe said. “And by doing so, I hope they will contribute to the peace and prosperity of the world.”
Abe also had a veiled message for Trump, ahead of a meeting with the U.S. president on Friday in Washington. Abe plans to attend a birthday party for Melania Trump and also go golfing with the president on Saturday. But on international trade issues, he’s closer on par with the EU.
“With expansion of uncertainties and economic protectionism in the international community, Japan-EU cooperation, which shares universal values, is becoming more important,” Abe said.
