Macron meets Japan emperor
France Japan push for Hormuz reopening
French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron paid a visit to the Emperor and Empress of Japan at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
The couple had a courtesy meeting with the Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, followed by lunch on the final day of their visit in Japan.
Before this Emmanuel Macron met Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Japan and France agreed to coordinate closely in pushing for an end to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas tankers, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.
At the bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Tokyo, Takaichi addressed the importance of cooperation on energy security.
With the Middle East conflict now in its fifth week, Japan, France and other countries are grappling with rising energy costs. Unless the conduit for about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows reopens, they could face shortages of petroleum products.
Japan, which normally gets around 90% of its oil from the Middle East, has begun drawing on its oil reserves to cushion the economic blow.
Speaking alongside Takaichi, Macron said he shared her position on the need to restore freedom of navigation in the strait.
The two leaders also said they would pursue closer security ties in the Indo-Pacific and signed agreements on cooperation in critical mineral supply chains, civilian nuclear technology and artificial intelligence.
France has held talks with dozens of countries as it seeks proposals for a mission to reopen the waterway once the conflict ends. Japan has said it could consider dispatching minesweepers, though the scope of any role would be constrained by its pacifist constitution.
