Japan may join Canadian Arctic military exercises as part of new strategic partnership

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The Royal Canadian Navy will step up joint exercises with Japanese warships and Tokyo is looking at conducting military training with Canada in the Arctic under a new strategic partnership signed by Mark Carney.

The Prime Minister arrived Friday in Japan, arguably Canada’s most important ally in Asia, as part of his drive to boost non-U.S. trade in the face of increased protectionism in the United States under President Donald Trump. It’s the final stop in a 10-day trip that started in India and continued to Australia and Japan.

In Tokyo, Mr. Carney met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, fresh from a landslide election victory that secured her immediate political future.

The leaders emerged from the Kantei, or prime minister’s office, to announce the partnership that will forge deeper co-operation in defence, energy, critical minerals and advanced technology such as artificial intelligence.

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Ms. Takaichi, who repeatedly referred to the Prime Minister as “Mark” in remarks to journalists, said the strategic partnership takes Japan and Canada to a new level.

Mr. Carney was the guest at an official dinner with Ms. Takaichi on Friday evening, where the Prime Minister presented her with a Canadian-themed cake to mark her birthday, which falls on Saturday.

The two leaders signed three memorandums of co-operation on defence and security for joint Coast Guard exercises, international emergency response and action against illegal fishing in the North Pacific. Both Canada and Japan are significantly boosting military spending, which, in Tokyo’s case, is to deter future aggression from China, among other countries.

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