Tokyo, June 11, 2025
1. Prime Minister of Japan, ISHIBA Shigeru, and President of the Republic of Finland, Alexander STUBB met in Tokyo on 11 June 2025 on the occasion of President Stubb’s visit to Japan.
2. The two leaders noted that Japan and Finland have a long history of friendship and close bilateral cooperation dating back over 100 years and their countries share values such as freedom, democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and support for the rules-based international order. They recalled the Joint Statement on the Strategic Partnership of 2016, which has provided a strong base and deepened bilateral cooperation in a number of areas, and taking into account the current mutual priorities and geopolitical situation, they announced the Joint Statement on Reinforced Cooperation in the Future. The Japan-EU Strategic Partnership Agreement provides an important framework also for strengthened bilateral partnership between Japan and Finland.
I Foreign and Security Policy
3. The two leaders recognized the demanding international political and security environment, and the reality that the security of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable. They are committed to continuing and strengthening foreign and security policy dialogue and cooperation at both political and senior official levels, including in regular political consultations between the Foreign Ministries of both countries, having in mind that Japan is an important partner for the EU, NATO and OSCE, and to furthering their cooperation to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law, including a free and open Indo Pacific.
4. The two leaders reiterated their condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which constitutes a serious violation of international law, including the UN Charter. They also reiterated their unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and concurred to deepen cooperation in support for Ukraine. They noted the importance of sharing expertise on sanctions, the implementation of sanctions as well as combatting sanctions evasion and circumvention, especially in the field of goods and technologies supporting Russia’s military sector and shadow fleet. They underlined that comprehensive, long-term international support is needed in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
5. The two leaders condemned the provision to Russia of military assistance by North Korea, and the provision of weapons and dual-use components by China, a decisive enabler of Russia’s war and of the reconstitution of Russia’s armed forces. They reiterated their intention to continue to take action against such third parties. In particular, the two leaders expressed serious concern over the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including North Korea’s export and Russia’s procurement of North Korea’s ballistic missiles in breach of multiple UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs), and Russia’s use of these missiles and munitions against Ukraine as well as the engagement in combat against Ukraine of North Korean troops deployed to Russia. The cooperation negatively impacts security both in the Indo-Pacific and in Europe.
6. The two leaders expressed serious concerns over the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and strongly opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion. They affirmed the importance of upholding freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and stressed that all maritime claims must be based on the relevant provisions of UNCLOS. They also emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of the security and prosperity for the international community. They encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.
7. The two leaders strongly condemned North Korea’s ongoing development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in violation of the relevant UNSCRs. They reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and demanded that North Korea abandon all its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner, in accordance with all relevant UNSCRs. They underscored the need to deter and counter North Korea’s malicious cyber activities including cryptocurrency thefts, which fund its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs. They urged all UN Member States to fully implement all relevant UNSCRs. They urged North Korea to respect human rights and resolve the abductions issue immediately.
8. The two leaders reaffirmed their unequivocal support of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and its three mutually reinforcing pillars: nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. They reiterated their common commitment to a world without nuclear weapons through initiatives such as the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament.
9. The two leaders concurred that Japan and Finland will continue to work together on areas such as information and cybersecurity, emerging and disruptive technologies (EDT) and countering hybrid threats, including preventing the spread of disinformation. They recognized the importance of establishing a framework on information security.
10. The two leaders also concurred to strengthen the bilateral cooperation in cybersecurity and welcomed dialogue and cooperation, such as between National center of Incident readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC) of Japan and National Cyber Security Center of Finland.
11. The two leaders underlined the importance of increased vigilance and enhanced coordination among like-minded countries to address economic, social and security risks in the digital sphere, including protecting critical infrastructure.
12. The two leaders strongly condemned hostile and reckless actions against critical undersea infrastructure and other critical infrastructure. Underlining the need for increased vigilance and the need for enhanced maritime security coordination with like-minded partners, they committed to sharing information and identifying possible countermeasures in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS.
13. The two leaders emphasized the importance of multilateralism, with the strong UN as its cornerstone, and concurred on exploring opportunities for joint efforts in issues related to export control, peace mediation, and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. In this context they renewed their commitment to the urgent reform of the UN Security Council, including the expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of its membership.
II Defense, Security and Materiel Cooperation
14. The two leaders confirmed their commitment to further developing the bilateral defense dialogue and enhancing cooperation in this area. They shared the view to accelerate negotiations on the Agreement concerning the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology in order to further strengthen the collaboration in the area of defense materiel.
15. The two leaders concurred on strengthening (1) defense policy dialogue between their respective Ministries of Defense, (2) cooperation through the Joint Working Group on defense materiel topics, (3) exchanges between the Japan Self Defense Forces and the Finnish Defence Forces, and (4) cooperation related to hybrid threats.
16. The two leaders acknowledged the growing interest in Japan towards the Finnish comprehensive security concept, including the protection of civilians, and encouraged further cooperation in this area.
III Trade and Investment
17. The two leaders recalled the steady progress in bilateral trade and investment relations and welcomed further collaboration. They stressed the importance of fully utilizing the potential of the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement. They also committed to maintaining and strengthening the rules-based multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core, and concurred in working together on the WTO reform to improve all its functions.
18. The two leaders recognized the importance of direct air connections in promoting bilateral relations. These direct flights have facilitated bilateral cooperation in trade and culture ever since. They welcomed the continuation and further development of this connection in the future.
IV Economic Security, Digital, Science, Technology and Innovation
19. The two leaders recognized the importance of economic security and concurred in enhancing cooperation on economic security as a new focus area in bilateral dialogues and cooperation.
20. Having in mind the G7 Hiroshima Summit on May 20, 2023, the two leaders recognized that transparency, diversification, security, sustainability, trustworthiness and reliability are essential principles on which to build and strengthen resilient and reliable supply-chains with like-minded partners and concurred to cooperate in pursuing actions based on these principles on Resilient and Reliable Supply Chains. The two leaders also emphasized the importance of tackling non-market policies and practices that distort global level playing field through developing rules and norms as well as effectively utilizing tools.
21. The two leaders concurred to promote responsible investments into secure and sustainable critical minerals projects including the circularity of critical minerals, to enhance supply chain resilience and diversification.
22. The two leaders underlined the importance of secure connectivity in the challenging geopolitical landscape, especially in the area of digital infrastructure. They highlighted the importance of strengthening collaboration in building ICT and telecom infrastructure with trusted equipment vendors and technology suppliers, including new subsea cable routes.
23. The two leaders concurred to strengthen research, development and innovation cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, while promoting research security and integrity to prevent leakage and the misuse of such technologies, respecting academic freedom and the autonomy of higher education institutions as the basis for strong research, technology and innovation environments.
24. The two leaders underlined the importance of cooperation in Science and Technology according to the Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Republic of Finland on Cooperation in Science and Technology, signed in 1997, in areas such as green transition, bioeconomy, health technology, emerging and disruptive technologies such as AI, quantum, supercomputing, Beyond 5G/6G development, and Arctic research.
25. They noted that advanced telecommunications, such as 5G and Beyond 5G/6G, will underpin future digital economies and innovation, and are foundational in bridging the digital divide. They welcomed growing research and development cooperation on 5G and Beyond 5G/6G between the two countries.
26. The two leaders acknowledged the ever-growing importance of the circumpolar Arctic and highlighted the potential for enhanced cooperation between Finland as an Arctic nation and Japan as an observer state to the Arctic Council. The leaders shared the view that developments in the circumpolar Arctic, first and foremost as regards climate change, have a direct impact on the rest of the world. They underlined the value of effective multilateral cooperation in addressing challenges and opportunities and confirmed that any action in this region should be based on the rule of law. They look forward to future scientific cooperation such as “Mirai II,” Japan’s first Arctic research vessel with icebreaking capabilities. They recognized the importance of space-based services in aspect of enabling many trade functions and other functions especially in the operations in Arctic region and welcomed collaboration in space science and technology development.
V Sustainable Development, Disaster Risk Reduction, Energy and Circular Economy
27. The two leaders concurred to promote new solutions and innovations in the field of clean energy, energy efficiency and circular economy in order to ensure a just, clean transition and in enhancing sustainable economic growth.
28. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to accelerating international disaster risk reduction cooperation in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. They emphasized the critical role of a disaster preparedness approach and the need for investment in people, goods and infrastructure for disaster risk reduction.
29. The two leaders recognized that climate change, loss of biodiversity and overconsumption are different aspects of the same sustainability crisis. They noted cooperation between the Ministry of the Environment of Finland and the Ministry of the Environment of Japan in the field of environment and circular economy.
30. The two leaders noted the potential for further collaboration in the fields of forestry, circular bioeconomy and sustainable food systems, and noted the close cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland.
31. The two leaders recognized mutual opportunities in enhancing research and industrial cooperation in the field of green transition in relation to Japan’s GX 2040 Vision and Finland’s clean transformation policy, and supported promotion of investment opportunities and cooperation in these fields. They welcomed cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, both at the level of authorities and business community, and reaffirmed to continue their cooperation respecting the highest nuclear safety, security and safeguards standards.
VI Society and People-to-People Exchange
32. The two leaders recognized the joint demographic challenges and encouraged cooperation to find solutions together, for example in elderly care technology and wearable wellness solutions.
33. The two leaders underlined the importance of cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges in promoting mutual understanding and welcomed the good cooperation between their culture and creative sectors. They took note of the working holiday agreement, which entered into force in 2023, as an instrument to enhance exchanges of the youth. They emphasized the importance of student and researcher exchange programs and concurred on the need to explore possibilities for further increasing the student and researcher mobility.
