Deepening Canada-Japan Relations in the Indo-Pacific

Presented by The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and the David Lam Centre at Simon Fraser University, with support from the Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver.

Recent years have seen Canada and Japan increasingly collaborate and express the need to maintain long-standing and stable ties while diversifying and deepening the bilateral relationship. For example, in October 2021, the governments of Canada and Japan announced the Canada-Japan Action Plan for contributing to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, in which the two countries agreed to work together on six shared priorities: the rule of law, peacekeeping, health security, energy security, trade, and climate change. In November 2022, the Government of Canada released its Indo-Pacific Strategy, which outlines a policy of strengthening co-operation in the Indo-Pacific in a wide range of fields, and it explicitly discusses the importance of partnering with Japan. And in May 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participated in the G7 Hiroshima Summit held in Japan.

Our multi-partner event commemorates the 95th anniversary of Canada-Japan diplomatic relations by discussing the G7, Japan’s new Free and Open Indo-Pacific outlook, Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, and what these initiatives mean practically for deepening Canada-Japan ties. The September 27 event included presentations by academics detailing their respective visions for collaboration between Canada and Japan in the region. The academic presentations were followed by a panel of experts that will review key elements of each country’s approach to the Indo-Pacific region to identify areas of mutual interest and potential for further collaboration.