EU-Japan summit friendly, short

Iran and North Korea’s nuclear programmes have played prominently in the 15th annual EU-Japan summit talks in Tokyo, which lasted about an hour.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his European guests agreed that dialogue with Pyongyang which was suspended in November should resume.

They also said they were worried about Iran’s uranium enrichment.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called for further friendly cooperation in trade and business matters:

“I believe it is more important than ever that, through our regulatory dialogue, we remove all obstacles that can exist on foreign investments – on both sides.”

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Scheussel noted that the EU and Japan together account for some 40% of the world’s GDP, and that their exchanges of goods and serbvices represent roughly 150 billion euros.

Energy security and territorial conflicts between Japan, South Korea and China were also on the agenda.

After the summit, the Europeans were received by the Emperor, Akihito.

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