President Juncker at the 25th EU-Japan Summit

Source: European Commission (EC) i, published on Tuesday, July 17 2018.

EU-Japan Summit: a landmark moment for trade and cooperation

At the 25th EU-Japan Summit, which took place in Tokyo today, two landmark agreements - the Economic Partnership Agreement and the Strategic Partnership Agreement - have been signed, significantly boosting bilateral relations.

Negotiations on reciprocal adequacy have also been concluded, meaning that the EU and Japan will recognise each other's data protection systems as 'equivalent', thus allowing data to flow safely between the two.

The Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Japan is the biggest ever negotiated by the European Union. It creates an open trade zone covering over 600 million people and nearly a third of global GDP. It will remove the vast majority of the €1 billion of duties paid annually by EU companies exporting to Japan, and has led to the removal of a number of long-standing regulatory barriers, for example on cars. It will also open up the Japanese market of 127 million consumers to key EU agricultural exports and will increase EU export opportunities in a range of other sectors. The Agreement follows the highest standards of labour, environmental and consumer protection and has a dedicated chapter on sustainable development. It is the first trade agreement negotiated by the European Union to include a specific commitment to the Paris climate agreement.

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker i, who alongside the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk i, represented the European Union said: "Today is a historic moment in our enduring partnership. Today's signature of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement is a landmark moment for global trade, and I am also delighted that we have signed the first ever Strategic Partnership Agreement, which takes our cooperation to the next level. The impact of the Economic Partnership Agreement goes far beyond our shores. Together, we are making a statement about the future of free and fair trade. We are showing that we are stronger and better off when we work together and we are leading by example, showing that trade is about more than tariffs and barriers. It is about values, principles and finding win-win solutions for all. As far as we are concerned, there is no protection in protectionism - and there cannot be unity where there is unilateralism."

At the Summit, Leaders have also signed the EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement, which will provide an overarching and binding framework for enhanced cooperation across a range of areas such as cybercrime, disaster management, energy and security, climate change and ageing populations.

This agreement, together with the new Economic Partnership Agreement will take the EU’s long-standing Partnership with Japan to a new strategic level, triggering considerable benefits to citizens on both sides. The Agreement’s primary role will be to serve as the charter defining and undergirding the EU-Japan overall relationship. It will be the framework to enhance bilateral cooperation and cooperation in international and regional organisations and fora. It will help the EU and Japan to jointly promote peace, stability and prosperity globally, as well as an open international system. At a time where the rules-based international order is under increasing pressure, the Agreement affirms the shared values and common principles that form the base of the EU-Japan partnership, including human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Both parties reaffirm their respect for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all the relevant international human rights treaties to which they are parties.

On reciprocal adequacy, the agreement found today foresees a mutual recognition of an equivalent level of data protection by the EU and Japan. Once adopted, this will cover personal data exchanged for commercial purposes, but also personal data exchanged for law enforcement purposes between EU and Japanese authorities, ensuring that in all such exchanges a high level of data protection is applied.

To live up to European standards, Japan has committed to implementing the following additional safeguards to protect EU citizens' personal data, before the Commission formally adopts its adequacy decision:

  • A set of rules providing individuals in the EU whose personal data are transferred to Japan, with additional safeguards that will bridge several differences between the two data protection systems. These additional safeguards will strengthen, for example, the protection of sensitive data, the conditions under which EU data can be further transferred from Japan to another third country, the exercise of individual rights to access and rectification. These rules will be binding on Japanese companies importing data from the EU and enforceable by the Japanese independent data protection authority (PPC) and courts.
  • A complaint-handling mechanism to investigate and resolve complaints from Europeans regarding access to their data by Japanese public authorities. This new mechanism will be administered and supervised by the Japanese independent data protection authority.

At the Summit, the Leaders also addressed regional and foreign policy issues including the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, the commitment to preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - the Iran nuclear deal, among others. The Leaders also discussed other bilateral issues, including possibilities to strengthen the EU-Japan security partnership, strengthened cooperation in the fields of development policy and education, culture and sports.

Related links

EU-Japan Summit website

EU-Japan relations factsheet

Remarks of President Jean-Claude Juncker at the press conference following the 25th EU-Japan Summit

Strategic Partnership Agreement factsheet

Press Release: EU and Japan sign Economic Partnership Agreement

Economic Partnership Agreement factsheet

Economic Partnership Agreement website

Joint Statement by Haruhi Kumazawa, Commissioner of the Personal Information Protection Commission of Japan and Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality of the European Commission

Press Release: The European Union and Japan agreed to create the world's largest area of safe data flows

Memo: Questions and Answers on the Japan Adequacy Decision

Support to the implementation of the Economic and Strategic Partnership Agreements under the Partnership Instrument

Delegation of the European Union to Japan website