Japan eager to build tighter trade relations with Canada
By: Nishimura Yasutoshi
It has been quite a while since a Japanese minister for economy, trade and industry has had Ottawa on the itinerary. This makes my visit to Ottawa on Sept. 21 all the more noteworthy. I met with Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Minster Mary Ng and Minister Jonathan Wilkinson during the last 12 months when they visited Japan, and have eagerly anticipating this trip to Ottawa for some time. Japan and Canada share a lot in common. We are both members of the G7 and both based in democracy. Moreover, we share the neighbourhood with a major power located right on our doorstep. With these commonalities as backdrop, Japan and Canada have been developing our economic relations as partners in the Indo-Pacific and working in co-operation to bring about a free and open Indo-Pacific. We are also both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and are leading the formulation of rules for the Indo-Pacific region. Canada also places high importance on Japan. Last year, Canada released its first-ever Indo-Pacific Strategy, positioning Japan as a partner for broad-based co-operation grounded in the values our nations share. The importance assigned to Japan is evident in the appointment of Ian McKay as Canada’s ambassador to Japan as well as additional role of special envoy for the Indo-Pacific region, a newly-created post. Yet, while our countries enjoy similarities, our relationship is also complementary in nature. Canada is blessed with a great abundance of natural resources, and Japan imports many of Canada’s energy and mineral resources that are critical for industrial activities. LNG Canada, which is still under construction, will be the first project that will export liquefied natural gas to Japan from the west coast of North America, helping to bolster Japan’s energy security. At the same time, Toyota, Honda, and other Japanese automakers have production facilities in Canada, supporting the development of Canada’s manufacturing industry. In this way, Japan and Canada have each advanced the development of the other’s economy while mutually complementing each other. Moreover, new co-operative relationships are starting to take shape between us. One example of this is supply chain co-operation in batteries, an endeavour looking ahead to the CO2 net zero era. Canada possesses battery metals domestically and is also adjacent to North America’s enormous electric vehicle market. Meanwhile, while Japan is lacking in resources, it has companies that excel in smelting, battery component materials, and battery manufacturing. Japanese companies will make the battery supply chain more resilient through their co-operation with Canadian companies. Both the Japanese and Canadian governments will work vigorously to advance these kinds of corporate partnerships. Next, as economic security takes on greater importance, we will promote Japan-Canada co-operation in advanced technologies. Canada stands at the vanguard globally in AI and quantum technology development. At the same time, Japan has companies that develop and manufacture the components and materials needed for quantum computers. The Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI technology (G-QuAT) was newly established this summer at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology as a hub for the industrialization of quantum computers. Cutting-edge technologies such as this also hold great promise for co-operation between our countries. We hope to have Canadian companies leading the world in the quantum field come to G-QuAT to work together with us to advance the development of quantum computers. The governments of Japan and Canada will prepare a framework for dialogue and seek out co-operation in concrete terms in quantum and other state-of-the-art industrial technologies. The world has been in an ongoing state of instability ever since Russia launched its aggression against Ukraine. Now is the time for like-minded countries to act in co-operation. I will fully leverage my visit to Ottawa to make the economic ties between Canada and Japan even more robust.
