Opening remarks by Ambassador Sigmund at the reception held in honour of the visit to Japan by the Minister of Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr Boris Pistorius

22 March, 6.00 pm

Dear Minister Pistorius,

Minister Kiuchi,

State Minister Miyazaki,

Honourable Members of the German Bundestag and the Japanese Parliament,

Vice Ministers Wakabayashi and Kano

State Secretary Hilmer,

General Uchikura,

Distinguished guests from Germany and Japan!

It is a great honour to welcome you all to the German Residence.

Minister, your renewed visit to Japan, accompanied by members of the Bundestag, demonstrates that, especially in challenging times, Germany and Japan maintain a very close political dialogue.

The war in the Middle East underscores the critical importance of open sea lanes for all of us. This conflict has lasted three weeks now.

At the same time, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has, by now, continued for over four years. Its repercussions extend far beyond Europe.

Furthermore, the increasingly severe security environment in the Indo-Pacific demands our full attention.

Germany and Japan know what is at stake. In times of growing uncertainty, our response as like-minded partners must be even closer cooperation.

This also applies to the defence industry sector. With their industrial and technological capabilities, German and Japanese companies are ideal partners.

The presence of many representatives of German and Japanese industries underlines this partnership. I warmly welcome all of you as well.

Finally, I sincerely thank the Japanese government for making this visit and all its various elements, possible.

I also extend my gratitude to the representatives of the Japanese and American bases in Yokosuka, as well as to the representatives of the business community, for their outstanding support.

I hope you all enjoy the evening. Minister Pistorius, the floor is yours.

Speech by the Minister of Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr Boris Pistorius,

at the reception held at the German Residence on the occasion of his visit to Japan

22 March, 6.00 pm

Dear Ambassador Sigmund,

Minister Kiuchi,

State Minister Miyazaki,

Honourable Members of the German Bundestag and the Japanese Parliament,

Vice-Ministers Wakabayashi and Kano,

General Uchikura,

Dear guests from Germany and Japan!

I am delighted to be here in Tokyo this evening.

Thank you, Ambassador Sigmund, and your team for your warm welcome. I appreciate the excellent organisation of our visit.

I have come to Japan not only as the German Minister of Defence, but also as a great friend of this beautiful country and its people.

I visited Japan several times whilst serving as Minister of the Interior for the State of Lower Saxony.

At that time, my focus was on internal security and our bilateral cooperation in the field of sport.

However, today, my focus is different.

Yet one thing has remained the same: since my arrival yesterday, I have once again been able to experience how much we Germans and Japanese have in common, alongside our enthusiasm for sport – even if my knowledge of baseball certainly leaves room for improvement.

There is much we share: we are united by our commitment to the international rules-based order and to multilateralism. These principles have been and will remain crucial for both our countries.

Above all, our relations are based on trust and a shared understanding of foreign and security policy issues.

In a world like today’s, which is above all characterised by unpredictability, reliable partnerships such as the partnership between our two countries are our strongest asset.

That is why this visit here to Japan is so important to me. And it is also why I have brought a somewhat larger delegation with me to Tokyo.

I am delighted that two German Members of Parliament Sara Nanni and Michael Schäfer, have also travelled to Tokyo with us.

I am also accompanied by six representatives of major German companies:

• Michael Schöllhorn, CEO of Airbus
• Christian Leicher, CEO of Rohde & Schwarz
• Helmut Rauch, CEO of Diehl
• Thomas Gottschild, CEO of MBDA
• Marti Karkour, CEO of Quantum Systems
• Jens Nielsen, member of the Group Executive Committee and Head of the Services and Training Division at Hensoldt.

There is an obvious reason these executives are with me. Without a resilient defence industry, there can be no security. Our shared security also benefits from closer cooperation between the German and Japanese defence industries.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, I had the special honour of spending the entire day with my Japanese counterpart, Defence Minister Koizumi.

Not only was it on a Sunday, but the Sunday after Shunbun no Hi, a public holiday here in Japan. I highly appreciate this gesture.

I could already fill an entire book with my impressions and what I have learnt about German-Japanese relations.

But I am aware that I am keeping you from a good meal and a pleasant evening here in the ambassador’s beautiful residence.

I shall therefore now hand over to Minister Kiuchi and wish us all a wonderful evening.

Kampai!