On 23 July, Nobuhiro Endo (Japan-side BRT Chair and Executive Advisor, NEC Corporation) and Jeremy Grossas (Country Speaker – Japan, Merck Group) representing Belén Garijo (EU-side BRT Chair) submitted the BRT’s 2025 Recommendations to Shigeru Ishiba PM of Japan. During their meeting, PM Ishiba emphasised the importance of deepening cooperation between Japan and the EU which share common values and principles and expressed his respect for the BRT’s activities aimed at strengthening economic relations between Japan and the EU. He said that he would take the BRT’s recommendations into consideration and encouraged the BRT to further contribute to deepening cooperation on common challenges facing Japan and the EU.
The 30th EU-Japan Summit took place on the same afternoon with PM Ishiba, António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen issuing a ‘Joint Statement’ with annexes on ‘Deliverables and Priorities’ and the ‘Japan-EU Competitiveness Alliance’ including two references to the BRT.
On 30 July, the BRT’s co-Chairs, Belén Garijo and Nobuhiro Endo issued a statement warmly welcoming the Summit’s “strong focus on bolstering a rules-based free and fair trade environment, championing robust Multilateralism, advancing industrial policy, and augmenting economic security and resilience”. They felt that “these aims, together with ongoing efforts to diversify supply chains, develop emerging technologies, and promote climate-conscious industrial practices, underscore the strategic importance of our partnership in a fast-evolving and uncertain environment”. They commended, the Summit’s ambition to strengthen collaboration across these areas, outlined the benefits of uniting private-sector expertise with governmental frameworks, welcomed the announcement of an EU-Japan Defence Industry Dialogue and endorsed the new ‘EU-Japan Competitiveness Alliance,’ seeing it as a powerful forum to unify existing efforts under a cohesive approach. They pledged the BRT’s readiness to “foster constructive dialogue on trade facilitation, industrial policy, and investment collaborations …. [and to] strive to translate the Summit’s commitments into tangible progress, delivering broad-based benefits to our economies, societies, and the global marketplace.”
More info here
Published: October 2025