EU Ambassadors eye closer ties with Japan’s regions through discussions with governors

EU Ambassadors eye closer ties with Japan's regions through discussions with governors

EU News 019/2026

As part of its efforts to deepen ties with Japan at local level, the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Japan hosted a meeting between the Ambassadors of the EU and its Member States and the governors and vice-governors of nine Japanese prefectures on 2 June.

The event was an opportunity for the two sides to discuss how they might work together to boost cooperation ranging from people-to-people exchanges and tourism to trade and investment promotion and academic exchanges.

EU Ambassador to Japan Jean-Eric Paquet opened the meeting by remarking that through his visits to all 47 Japanese prefectures, 'I found outstanding companies, champions in their area of technology and industrial developments, everywhere, and of course a lot of interest in cities and prefectures to reach out to Europe'.

Nagano Governor Shuichi Abe, Chairman of the National Governors' Association, noted that in an era of great change, it is becoming increasingly rare for a single region or even a single country to tackle today's challenges alone.

'It has become vitally important to share our awareness of these issues and challenges across borders, and to join forces to address them. We believe that by forging strong links between the representatives from the EU visiting us and our prefectures and municipalities, we can share experiences and know-how and manage our affairs at a practical level; this is of the utmost importance not only for the EU member states, but also for Japan and our respective regions', he said.

Discussions touched upon concrete opportunities for cooperation in areas such as trade and investment promotion, industrial cooperation, tourism, innovation, academic exchanges and regional attractiveness strategies. Business internationalisation, collaboration among SMEs and innovation ecosystems and sustainable and resilient economic development were of particular interest.

The meeting took place in the context of growing EU engagement with Japan across a wide range of sectors, including economic security, digital transformation, green transition, connectivity and research cooperation. It also reflects the EU's wider Indo-Pacific engagement and commitment to strengthening partnerships with trusted partners sharing common values and interests.