Germany and Japan issue joint statement on economic security and future technologies; agree high-level AI dialogue

On 28 October 2026, during Chancellor Friedrich Merz's first visit to Japan, he and Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi issued joint statements on economic security and future technologies, and agreed to establish a high-level dialogue on artificial intelligence and to deepen cooperation against cyberattacks. They also signed a joint declaration of intent on critical raw materials and committed to broadening the supply base and improving substitutability of rare earths, and to monitoring/assessing supply chains to counter economic coercion. Germany plans €2bn in AI and high-tech investment by 2029; Japan aims for ~€18bn private investment by 2040 in these areas.

This is a heads-of-government initiative that institutionalises an AI cooperation channel between two major AI-using economies and links AI development to supply-chain and economic-security resilience. It is a declaratory/cooperation measure rather than a binding rule, but signals a growing bloc of countries pairing AI capability-building with supply-chain de-risking and export-control caution — relevant context for AI governance and compute-supply strategy.

Monitor for concrete outcomes of the Germany-Japan high-level AI dialogue and any joint standards/cybersecurity cooperation that could affect AI supply chains and export-control alignment.