EU invites Japan's Motegi to explain 'free and open Indo-Pacific'

Tokyo joins bloc-wide meeting for first time as Europe's focus turns to Asia

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, inset, attended the meeting of the EU's Foreign Affairs Council via videoconference. (Photo courtesy of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

TAKUYA MIZOROGI, MASAYA KATO and SHOHEI KANAYA, Nikkei staff writers

January 26, 2021 06:01 JST

TOKYO -- Japan's top diplomat Toshimitsu Motegi was invited to address the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council Monday -- a first for a Japanese foreign minister -- where he briefed the members on his country's efforts toward a "free and open Indo-Pacific."

The foreign minister described it as "an inclusive concept, open to cooperation with any country which shares the same values and vision."