Waiting for new deliverables: Can the EU-Japan strategic partnership measure up to global and regional challenges?

Abstract:

The EU and Japan are now concluding two partnership agreements that should facilitate bilateral trade, streamline political and security cooperation and reinforce shared values. While they buttress the strategic scope of their cooperation as “like-minded” partners, their ratification may take a while. Furthermore, in order to measure up to contemporary global and regional challenges, the political and economic agreements need to be followed up by concrete initiatives in such realms as infrastructure investment (connectivity), maritime security and nuclear non-proliferation.