By Sakura Murakami TOKYO (Reuters) - Yoon Suk Yeol arrives in Tokyo on Thursday on the first visit to Japan by a South Korean president in 12 years, seeking a closer relationship amid a perceived increase in regional threats from North Korea and China. Yoon will meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the afternoon when the two are expected to present a united front as they seek to put behind years of animosity arising from Japan s 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsula. Talks between the two are likely to focus on North Korea and regional security, as well as cooperation to secure supply chains. There is an increasing need for (South) Korea and Japan to cooperate in this time, Yoon said in a written interview with international media including Reuters, calling both North Korea s nuclear and missile threats and supply chain disruptions a polycrisis . Yoon has said that he expects to invigorate security cooperation and the two leaders are preparing to confirm the restart of
By Simon Lewis and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States and Japan launched a new high-level economic dialogue on Friday aimed at pushing back against China and countering the disruption caused by Russia s invasion of Ukraine. The two long-time allies agreed to establish a new joint research center for next-generation semiconductors during the so-called economic two-plus-two ministerial meeting in Washington, Japanese Trade Minister Koichi Hagiuda said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Hagiuda also discussed energy and food security, the officials said in a news briefing. As the world s first- and third-largest economies, it is critical that we work together to defend the rules-based economic order, one in which all countries can participate, compete and prosper, Blinken told the opening session. Blinken said recent world events, including the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Uk
By Michael Nienaber and Rene Wagner BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel has steered Germany through many crises over the past 16 years, but she has also left behind a mixed legacy and failed to tackle some deep structural problems in Europe s largest economy. Despite a golden decade of uninterrupted growth and budget surpluses, most economists agree Germany has neglected its public infrastructure and invested too little in digitisation. The Ifo institute forecasts the economy will grow by a stellar 5.1% in 2022, the strongest rate since the economic boom of the early 1990s following Germany s reunification. The unusually strong growth outlook is mainly due to the recovery and catch-up effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. But under the shiny surface, things look less bright. If Germany wants to avoid falling further behind over the next few years, the coming coalition government must tackle these three challenges: DIGITISATION Under Merkel s watch, Germany has fallen further behi
By Yew Lun Tian BEIJING (Reuters) - Canada s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a Chinese court s sentencing of Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage on Wednesday was absolutely unacceptable and called for his immediate release. The United States embassy in Beijing also condemned the sentencing in a statement, saying that proceedings against Spavor and another Canadian charged with espionage were an attempt to use human beings as bargaining leverage . The espionage cases are embroiled in a wider diplomatic spat involving Washington and Beijing, and Spavor s sentencing comes as lawyers in Canada representing the chief financial officer of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei make a final push to convince a court not to extradite her to the United States. China s conviction and sentencing of Michael Spavor is absolutely unacceptable and unjust, said Trudeau in a statement. The verdict for Mr. Spavor comes after more than two and a half years of arbitrary detent
By David Ljunggren and Moira Warburton OTTAWA/VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada condemned China on Wednesday for its treatment of two detained Canadian citizens, days ahead of the anticipated start of an election campaign in which opposition parties are expected to accuse the Liberal government of being soft on Beijing. Earlier in the day, a Chinese court sentenced businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison on spying charges. Foreign Minister Marc Garneau slammed what he called a completely unjustified verdict after a mock sham trial. Spavor and Michael Kovrig were detained in December 2018, shortly after Vancouver police picked up Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. arrest warrant. Meng is fighting extradition and her case began committal hearings on Wednesday, the last judicial phase before going to Justice Minister David Lametti for his decision. Ottawa says the cases of Meng and the two detained Canadians are clearly linked. China has consistently denied the char