Japanese PM, French President-elect set to expand bilateral cooperation—Tokyo

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President-elect Emmanuel Macron expressed readiness to develop the bilateral cooperation on various aspects, including the regulation of the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday. (Photo: ABE Shinzo fanpage/Facebook)

TOKYO—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President-elect Emmanuel Macron expressed readiness to develop the bilateral cooperation on various aspects, including the regulation of the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

During the telephone talks, the Japanese prime minister congratulated Macron on the victory in the French presidential elections. The latter, in turn, noted that he was interested in strengthening the bilateral relations.

“The sides affirmed the position, according to which Japan and France intend to develop the cooperation for reaching peace and stability in the Asia Pacific region, including on the settlement of the North Korean nuclear and missile program issue,” the statement, which followed the telephone conversation between the two leaders, read.

Macron won the second round of the election, which took place on Sunday, with 66.1 percent of the votes against 33.9 percent of his rival Marine Le Pen, according to the French Interior Ministry’s data.

The tensions around North Korea has been high over the last month due to the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile test including the last one which took place in late April.

According to the French Foreign Ministry, France and Japan maintain regular political dialogue on all major international issues such as regulation of the economic and financial system, improvement of the global economic governance in the context of G20 meetings, the fight against climate change, and international security issues.