Norway's State Secretary Andreas Flåm visited Tokyo from 1 to 5 June to strengthen bilateral cooperation with Japan in the areas of defence materiel, the space sector, and security policy dialogue.
The Norwegian Ministry of Defence reports that the visit was conducted in connection with Crown Prince Haakon's official visit to Japan. Flåm participated alongside Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Affairs Marianne Sivertsen Næss and Minister of Digitalisation Karianne Tung in a series of meetings and events.
During the meeting with Japanese Vice Minister Masahisa Miyazaki at the Japanese Ministry of Defence, the value of bilateral security and defence cooperation was discussed. A central theme was geopolitical developments, China's rise, and the strategic partnership between China and Russia.
We want to further develop bilateral cooperation with Japan and are working, among other things, to put a security agreement in place, which would be a good step towards broader cooperation, Flåm stated in the press release.
On 3 June, Flåm participated in a full-day seminar on defence and industry organised by the Norwegian Defence and Security Industries Association (FSI) and Innovation Norway (Innovasjon Norge). The seminar brought together representatives from both Japanese and Norwegian defence industry and government agencies. Topics included the security policy situation, industrial capacity, medical preparedness, space technology, and supply chain vulnerability.
The Ministry of Defence held meetings with the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to discuss defence materiel cooperation and industrial collaboration. The Ministry of Defence notes that Japan earlier this year reformed its export control regulations, opening the way for exports of defence materiel. The reform is described as part of Japan's goal to strengthen its defence industry and facilitate international industrial cooperation.
Companies such as Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) are reported to have been active in Japan for nearly 20 years and to have established partnerships with Japanese industry in the space and satellite segment. During the visit, the delegation, supported by KSAT and Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace (KDA), conducted a visit to Japanese partner Synspective, which presented its technology and services within satellite-based Earth observation.