SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida agreed on Saturday (Oct 22) to strengthen security ties between the two US allies amid China’s push for greater influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

At the annual Australia-Japan Leaders’ Meeting, held in the Western Australia capital Perth, the two signed a security cooperation agreement updating a 2007 pact, to respond to a changed regional security environment.

As part of the bolstered security partnership, Albanese said Japan’s military would train and exercise in northern Australia alongside Australian Defence Force personnel.

In their fourth summit since Albanese took office in May, they said the agreement would serve “as a compass” for security cooperation for the next decade. They agreed to consult and study responses to emergencies that could affect regional security.

Albanese and Kishida also discussed climate change, expressing support for a regional transition to net zero carbon emissions and boosting investment in clean energy tech.

“Both our countries are committed to net zero by 2050,” Albanese told reporters after a signing ceremony.

Among those efforts, the leaders agreed to help build secure supply chains between the two nations for “critical minerals, including those that are required for building the green technologies of the future,” Albanese said.

“This partnership will mean we build secure supply chains, promote investment, develop Australia’s domestic sector and make sure Japan’s advanced manufacturers have the critical minerals they need.”

As well as building a framework for secure supply chains, the partnership would promote information sharing and collaboration, including research, investment and commercial arrangements between Japanese and Australian critical minerals projects, the Australian government said in a statement.

Kishida told reporters signing the updated joint security declaration was one of the largest achievements of his visit.

“I expressed my determination that all necessary options for the defence of our country, including the so-called counterstrike capability, would become contemplated and Japan’s defence capability will be fundamentally reinforced in the next five years, which is supported by Anthony,” he said.

The Japanese leader said the two nations had been working to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific under “an increasingly severe strategic environment”.

“Through this experience, the bonds that tie Japan and Australia together have become much stronger. And our two countries have become the central pillar of cooperation among like-minded countries,” he said.

Australia is a major supplier of iron ore, coal and gas to Japan. Locating the meeting in Perth, 3,700km from the national capital Canberra, was meant to showcase Western Australia’s importance in supplying Japan’s energy needs, including renewable energy. The state is also a key source of beef and wheat to Japan.

Canberra and Tokyo recently bolstered security ties in response to China’s growing military strength in the region. In May, Kishida and Albanese pledged to work toward a new bilateral declaration on security cooperation.

A previous joint declaration outlined security cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism and North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programmes. The two countries in 2014 elevated their relationship to a “Special Strategic Partnership”.

“I squarely face the people’s voices regarding our relationship with the Unification Church,” Kishida said in his speech opening the 69-day parliamentary session.

He promised to “do utmost” to help victims of the church’s suspect businesses and donation collection by setting up a government help desk offering legal advise. He’s also considering to revise the consumer contract law, but did not give details if or how he planned to pursue an investigation into how his party’s church links had affected government policies.

The suspect in Abe’s assassination reportedly told police he targeted the former leader because of his links to the church, which he said took large amounts of money from his mother, bankrupted his family and ruined his life. The South Korean church, because of its questionable recruiting and business tactics in Japan, is recognized by many experts as a cult, though it is registered as a religious group.

Abe, in a video he sent last year to the group’s affiliate, the Universal Peace Federation, praised its leader for her emphasis on traditional family values. Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the church take root in Japan over their shared anti-communism and other conservative goals.

LDP policy affairs chairman Koichi Hagiuda, who has also acknowledged his own ties to the church, said in a NHK national television talk show on Sunday that the party “regrets that our involvement might have contributed to raise credibility of the church” but that an investigation into Abe’s role would be “difficult” in his absence.

Results of an governing party internal survey showed about half its lawmakers were linked to the church, including some who accepted volunteer work from adherents during election campaigns.

According to another survey released on Friday by the consumer agency – which protects consumer rights and prevents unfair business practices – it had received 880 cases of complaints and inquiries over the past decade related to financial issues that individuals suffered because of the church. Of those, 285 were registered in the past six months alone.

Aides said Harris would work to build a unified approach to that challenge within the region, where leaders have warily watched the increased tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Biden is expected to hold his first face-to-face meeting as president with China’s Xi Jinping during November’s meeting of the Group of 20 nations in Indonesia.

Harris, who is leading the US delegation to the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, also discussed North Korea’s recent ballistic missile test with Kishida, as well the importance of resolving the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea, the statement said.

“The alliance between Japan and the United States – it is a cornerstone of what we believe is integral to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,” which includes China, Harris told Kishida during a portion of the meeting at Tokyo’s Akasaka Palace that was open to press.

She also called the US commitment to Japan’s security “ironclad”.

UNITED NATIONS: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held the first one-on-one talks between their countries’ leaders since 2019 on Wednesday (Sep 21) and agreed on the need to improve relations by resolving issues of dispute.

The meeting took place in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Yoon became president in May and has been keen to improve relations with Tokyo, which have been plagued by disputes stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 colonisation of the Korean peninsula, at a time when both countries face threats from North Korea. Japan has also stressed the importance of strategic cooperation.

“The two leaders agreed on the need to improve bilateral relations by resolving pending issues, and agreed to instruct their diplomats to accelerate talks between them to that end while also continuing discussions between themselves,” Yonhap quoted Yoon’s deputy spokesperson, Lee Jae-myoung, as saying.

Lee said the leaders shared serious concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program, including its recent law authorizing first use of nuclear weapons and the possibility of a resumption of nuclear testing for the first time since 2017.

Both sides described talks as “informal” and said they lasted 30 minutes.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Hikariko Ono said the two leaders “shared the need to bring back the sound bilateral relationship with the resolution of various issues.”

She said they agreed to develop relations “in a future-oriented manner based on the foundation of the friendly and cooperative relationship that both countries built since the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1965.”

Yonhap said Yoon and Kishida met several times on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Madrid in June, which included a trilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden, but Wednesday’s meeting was the first time they had sat down for one-on-one talks.

UNITED NATIONS: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday (Sep 20) renewed his offer to meet North Korea’s reclusive leader Kim Jong Un, as tensions simmer over Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Kishida said that Japan still stood by diplomacy set out two decades ago by former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi on his historic visit to Pyongyang.

“Japan is prepared to engage in dialogue on matters of mutual concern,” Kishida said.

“I am determined to meet with Chairman Kim Jong Un without any conditions and will miss no opportunity to take actions with all my dedication,” he said.

Kim met three times with former United States president Donald Trump, easing tensions but reaching no permanent solution on its nuclear program.

Asked whether he would consider stepping down as minister, Yamagiwa said he would take responsibility by staying on as minister and carrying out the administration’s economic stimulus measures.

“This is the work I need to fulfill,” he added.

Amid increasing public scrutiny into the party’s relationship with the church, the cabinet’s approval rating has plunged to around 30 per cent in recent polls compared with a peak of around 60 per cent earlier this year. The low ratings are close to what political analysts see as a danger level beyond which Japanese prime ministers may find it difficult to carry out their agenda.

A survey conducted by Jiji news agency last week found nearly two-thirds of respondents disapproved of Kishida’s handling of the church matter.

TOKYO: Support for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tumbled to its lowest level since he took office, hit by growing anger over a state funeral for slain former leader Shinzo Abe and his ruling party’s ties to a controversial church, an opinion poll showed.

Kishida’s support fell to 32.3 per cent from 44.3 per cent a month before, according to the survey by Jiji news agency conducted at the weekend – approaching what is widely seen as a “danger level” of 30 per cent that signifies a government may run into trouble carrying out its political agenda.

Those who did not support his government climbed to 40 per cent, a rise of 11.5 points, Jiji added.

Links to the Unification Church, founded in South Korea in the 1950s, have become a growing headache for Kishida since Jul 8, when Abe was killed by a suspect who blamed him for supporting the church, which he said had bankrupted his mother.

Revelations following Abe’s assassination of ties between the ruling party and the church, which has faced criticism over the years, have fed into anger about the cost of the Sep 27 funeral, paid for solely by state funds, and how Kishida decided to hold it.

TOKYO: Around half of Japan’s ruling party lawmakers have had dealings with the Unification Church, an official said Thursday (Sep 8), after the assassination of ex-premier Shinzo Abe heightened scrutiny of the religious organisation also sometimes known as the Moonies.

The man suspected of shooting Abe dead in July allegedly targeted the former prime minister believing he was linked to the sect.

Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi said a probe found some lawmakers had accepted support for election campaigns from the church and its spin-off groups.

Other LDP lawmakers had attended meetings or paid fees to the organisation, whose members are sometimes colloquially referred to as “Moonies” after Korean founder Sun Myung Moon.

Of 379 elected LDP lawmakers, 179 “had some sort of links” with the Unification Church, Motegi told reporters.

“We take the results seriously. We honestly feel sorry, and we’ll make sure the party no longer has any relationship at all with the church”, he said.

Last week, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said LDP members must cut ties with the group, following controversial revelations of its links with a raft of Japanese politicians.

The Unification Church has condemned Abe’s murder and denied accusations of coercive fundraising tactics among its members, but Kishida’s government has seen its approval ratings drop in recent weeks as more details have emerged.

“Nearly 90 per cent” of LDP lawmakers that attended gatherings hosted by organisations linked to the church told the probe they were not aware of the hosts’ affiliation, Motegi said.

“Our awareness was lacking, and that’s all the more reason that more efforts need to be made to raise awareness of the issue”, he added.

Kishida’s approval ratings have also fallen due to anger over a state funeral to be held for Abe on Sep 27, which the government expects to cost up to 1.7 billion yen (US$12 million).

The assassination has reignited years of controversy over the Unification Church, including accusations that some of its believers went broke after making ruinous donations to the group.

Last month, the organisation’s Japanese branch said it had “made concerted efforts to ensure that donations are not made which would be large in proportion to a person’s assets”.

The church says Abe was never a registered member or adviser, although he spoke at events organised by affiliated groups.
 

TOKYO: Japan’s prime minister said on Thursday (Sep 8) he accepted criticism that he had not sufficiently explained why he wants a state funeral for slain former premier Shinzo Abe, a decision that has dented his support that has slipped to its lowest ever.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision to hold the funeral on Sep 27, to be paid for by the state, is widely opposed by the public amid anger over revelations that ties between the ruling party and a church group could have played a part in the assassination.

“I humbly accept the criticism that my explanation was insufficient,” Kishida told members of parliament in response to questions about the issue.

Abe, Japan’s longest-serving but divisive premier, was shot and killed at an election rally on July 8.

His suspected assassin, arrested at the scene moments after the killing, bore a grudge against the Unification Church, alleging it bankrupted his mother, and blamed Abe for promoting it.

TOKYO: Japan’s government ministries have made budget requests totalling US$784 billion for the next fiscal year – their second-largest total to date, driven largely by the defence ministry’s request for a rise in spending to record levels.

The combined total spending requests made for next year’s budget came to  ¥110 trillion, the finance ministry said on Monday (Sep 5) not far off requests for this financial year that came in at  ¥111.7 trillion (US$795 billion).

This fiscal year’s initial budget has ended up being trimmed to ¥107 trillion, still a record amount.

The budget may be inflated further as some items were requested without an amount being specified in areas such as defence and decarbonisation.

“Spending pressure appears to be strong. Large-scale spending looks set to continue for a while given investment in defence and decarbonisation,” said Takuya Hoshino, senior economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

“The government has no choice but to sell more bonds for the time being, which must be repaid by sales tax hikes in future.”