BRUSSELS: European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are considering visiting Japan in May, diplomatic sources told Jiji Press on Thursday.

The European Union leaders plan to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on May 12 to hold a regular Japan-EU summit, according to the sources.

It will be the first time for both of the two EU leaders to visit Japan since they took office in December 2019.

Over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the leaders are expected to reaffirm, when they meet next month, cooperation between Japan and the EU in imposing sanctions on Moscow and extending humanitarian aid to affected people. They are also likely to discuss the promotion of security collaboration as part of efforts to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific, with an apparent aim to keep China’s ambitions at bay, and the strengthening of cooperation between Japan and European countries in fighting climate change and advancing digital technologies.

Regular Japan-EU summit talks have been held once a year in principle. The upcoming meeting will be the 28th such talks and the first to be joined by Kishida since he became prime minister in October last year.

As the previous meeting, held in May last year, used a teleconference system due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, the talks next month will be the first regular Japan-EU summit to be held in person in about three years.

Kishida held face-to-face talks respectively with Michel and von der Leyen on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Brussels in late March, agreeing to continue cooperation as members of the international community in responding to the Ukrainian crisis.

JIJI Press