Germany and Japan are enhancing their military cooperation to address the increasingly volatile global security situation. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koyzumi, confirmed during their meeting yesterday at the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo that this cooperation should include expanding arms collaboration and holding crisis consultations to coordinate countermeasures. Pistorius stated that as medium powers committed to the rules-based international order, Germany and Japan must «come closer together and clarify what we stand for and how we can ensure it». Koyzumi, on his part, said that the international community is undergoing rapid and significant change. «Given this changing security situation, it is almost impossible for a country to act alone,» he added. Earlier, Pistorius had stated at the start of his visit to Tokyo that «the erosion of the international order requires us to coordinate more closely with partners who share the same perspectives». «The importance of close cooperation between countries with shared views, such as Japan and Germany, is greater today than ever before».
