Japan and Canada plan to establish an economic security dialogue to strengthen supply chains for critical minerals and energy resources. The summit between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Prime Minister Mark Carney will focus on China's dominance in key materials. The talks, set for Friday night in Tokyo, aim to expand cooperation between the two countries.
On March 6, 2026, a summit between Japan and Canada will take place in Tokyo. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives in Japan on Friday afternoon for his first visit since taking office. Following talks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the two countries will issue a joint statement outlining a comprehensive strategic roadmap.
The roadmap covers six areas, including stronger defense ties, economic security, and energy security. It emphasizes the importance of a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' and expresses strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East and South China Seas, with China in mind. This stance aims to deepen defense cooperation between the two nations that share values like the rule of law.
On defense, the countries will begin discussions toward a Reciprocal Access Agreement to define the legal status of Self-Defense Forces personnel and Canadian troops, facilitating joint exercises. In response to cyber threats, they will establish a new cyber dialogue among relevant agencies and ministries.
For energy security, cooperation will promote stable import routes for crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), while expanding collaboration in clean energy areas such as nuclear technology and hydrogen. On economic security, the statement voices grave concern over economic coercion, particularly China's export restrictions on critical minerals to Japan. The two will launch a new vice minister-level dialogue on economic security, with the first meeting planned before the end of the year, and work to strengthen supply chains for critical minerals and other strategic goods.
These initiatives seek to reduce dependence on any single country and support stability in the Indo-Pacific, alongside regular mutual visits by leaders and cabinet ministers to bolster bilateral exchanges.
