LONDON: Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio and his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, affirmed Thursday a broad accord toward concluding a reciprocal access agreement that will serve as a legal basis during mutual visits by Japanese Self-Defense Forces personnel and British troops.

At a meeting in London, Johnson informed Kishida of Britain’s plan to lift by the end of June its import restrictions on food produced in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Fukushima, which were introduced after the March 2011 triple reactor meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s tsunami-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station.

A bilateral RAA sets criminal and other procedures for troops from one of the countries involved during a visit to the other to help ensure the smooth implementation of joint military exercises and disaster relief activities.

For Britain, the bilateral summit was a good opportunity to demonstrate the promotion of its relations with Japan for realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific at a time when China is increasing its influence on both the economic and military fronts. Britain is boosting its engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.

Kishida and Johnson also discussed the situation over Ukraine, which is being invaded by Russia. They agreed that the Group of Seven major industrial nations will remain united in imposing sanctions on Russia and continuing assistance for Ukraine.

The G-7 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union.

JIJI Press