Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi departed Tokyo on Saturday, 13 June for her first overseas trip to Europe since assuming office in October, with a packed itinerary covering bilateral visits to the United Kingdom and Italy before attending the G7 Summit in Evian, France. The tour marks Takaichi's debut on the G7 stage and signals Tokyo's intent to deepen ties with key Western partners on security, technology, and energy.

Bilateral Meetings in London and Rome

In the UK, Takaichi is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer, while her Italian leg will include talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Discussions in both capitals are expected to cover the evolving situations in East Asia, the Middle East, and Ukraine, alongside efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation in security, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, space, semiconductors, and offshore wind power. The focus on supply chain resilience and cutting-edge technology reflects a broader G7 consensus on reducing strategic dependencies.

Takaichi's G7 Agenda: Energy, Trade, and Critical Minerals

At the Evian Summit, Takaichi has outlined three priority areas. First, she intends to push for coordinated G7 opposition to what she described as 'unjust export restrictions,' while also advancing support for strengthening oil stockpiles across Asia and improving coordination with the International Energy Agency (IEA). Second, she plans to advocate for stronger cooperation between oil-producing and oil-consuming nations to, in her words, 'neutralise coercive actions.'

Third, on critical minerals, Takaichi has signalled that Japan will propose a joint stockpiling cooperation framework among G7 nations — a mechanism aimed at building mutual reserve linkages and reducing exposure to supply disruptions. She framed these proposals under Japan's broader 'Power Asia' vision, which Tokyo intends to present to the international community at Evian.

Takaichi's Own Words on the Summit

In posts on X, Takaichi laid out her expectations ahead of the summit. 'This will be my first G7 Summit, but at the Evian Summit, in addition to addressing geopolitical crises in the Middle East, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific, I intend to engage in frank discussions among leaders on urgent issues — such as cooperation toward energy security and market stabilization premised on free trade and the rule of law,' she wrote, adding that the G7 must 'unite and lead the international community in addressing these global challenges.'

On the minerals framework, she added: 'Japan plans to propose a joint stockpiling cooperation framework, under which we will lead efforts to support the establishment of stockpiling systems in G7 countries and promote mutual linkages among those systems.'

Why This Trip Matters

The visit comes at a moment of heightened geopolitical tension across multiple theatres — from the Indo-Pacific to Ukraine to the Middle East — with G7 nations under pressure to present a unified front. For Takaichi, who took office in October, the European tour is an early test of her foreign policy credibility and an opportunity to embed Japan more firmly in multilateral frameworks on energy and technology. Notably, Japan's push for a critical minerals stockpiling framework aligns with wider G7 anxieties over China's dominance in rare earth supply chains. All eyes will now be on whether Evian produces concrete commitments or remains a statement of intent.