
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday stressed his country's increased defense cooperation with Japan and other democracies in the Indo-Pacific region faced with security challenges such as Russia's war in Ukraine and China's rise.
Steinmeier, after holding talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, told a joint news conference that Germany and other countries “committed to freedom and democracy are standing up together and sending signals that they want to stick to the international rules-based order.”