FACT SHEET: U.S.-Japan Cooperation for a More Prosperous and Stable World

The United States and Japan have built a strategic partnership that encompasses a wide range of shared global priorities.  Today the partnership is a fitting reflection of the common interests, capabilities and values of our two countries as we work together to address challenges around the world.  The United States and Japan reaffirm their commitment to enhance their longstanding partnership as follows:

Expanding Bilateral Economic and People-to-People Ties

The United States and Japan are two of the world’s largest economic powers – accounting for nearly 30 percent of global GDP – and our economies are deeply intertwined through trade and investment.  This deep economic integration has been an extraordinarily positive force for job creation, wage growth, innovation, and enhanced prosperity for both countries.  To further develop those bonds, the United States and Japan endeavor to:

• Further deepen our economic ties.  In 2014, our two-way goods and services trade was $279 billion.  The United States has accumulated foreign direct investment in Japan of $123 billion, while Japan is the second largest foreign investor in the United States, with investment stock of nearly $350 billion. 
• Enhance cooperation and collaboration between SelectUSA and Invest Japan, noting the importance of our strong and growing bilateral investment relationship.
• Facilitate expedited travel by Japan’s participation in the U.S. Global Entry Program and U.S. participation in Japan’s Trusted Traveler Program.
• Expand cooperation in infrastructure development in our respective countries including high speed rail projects, recognizing the importance of developing high speed rail as an investment in the future growth of our economies.
• Continue to strengthen people-to-people ties, including efforts to increase student, research, and legislative exchanges. Welcome the “KAKEHASHI Initiative toward the Future” and the “TOMODACHI Initiative,” and continued efforts by the U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange, which inspired the “Team Up” campaign to promote university-to-university partnerships and programs by the Japan Foundation.

Harnessing Science, Technology, and Innovation for Our Future

Together, the United States and Japan are drawing upon the technical skills and resources of our two nations to:

a. Science, Technology, and Innovation

• Enhance our cooperation on vital research issues, such as biomedical research, robotics, materials research, and computer and information science and engineering, in close cooperation with academic institutions, government research and development institutions, industry, and through the U.S. – Japan Joint High Level Committee on science and technology, based on the U.S.-Japan Science and Technology Agreement, extended in 2014.
• Pursue working together to explore ways to better address the challenges of aging societies by harnessing new technologies and developing innovations.

b. Space

• Reaffirm commitment to secure the responsible, peaceful, and safe use of space.
• Enhance space cooperation from a broad, inclusive, and strategic perspective including through the whole-of-government U.S.-Japan Comprehensive Dialogue on Space with the next session to be held later this year in Tokyo.
• Underscore the importance of continued utilization of the International Space Station, and ensure close cooperation for the next International Space Exploration Forum.
• Increase cooperation in both space science and Earth observation, including meteorology, and in Earth science to address global environmental and climate challenges.
• Recognize continued cooperation on the joint NASA-JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement mission and on global carbon measurements through the agreement with regard to the Orbital Carbon Observatory-2 Satellite and the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite-1 and 2 missions.
• Cooperate on a Global Change Observation Mission follow-on mission to avoid a gap in availability of data required for global weather forecasting.
• Strengthen the resilience and interoperability of critical space systems, focusing on: space-based positioning, navigation, and timing; enhanced space situational awareness; use of space for maritime domain awareness; research and development in space technologies; and use of hosted payloads.
• Support international efforts to develop transparency and confidence-building measures to encourage responsible actions in, and the peaceful use of, space, such as an International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities.

c.       Cyber and the Internet Economy

• Strengthen and expand our robust cooperation on cyber issues and the Internet Economy. 
• Reaffirm commitment to an open, interoperable, secure and reliable cyberspace, to the multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance for ensuring the free flow of information, and to Internet Freedom principles as outlined by the Freedom Online Coalition.
• Hold the next whole-of government U.S.-Japan Cyber Dialogue and the next U.S.-Japan Policy Cooperation Dialogue on the Internet Economy this year; and coordinate closely ahead of relevant international fora such as the International Telecommunication Union and the United Nations General Assembly.
• Increase sharing of information about cyber incidents and threats, including the state-sponsored cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, trade secrets, or other confidential business information intended to provide competitive advantages to a state’s companies or commercial sector.
• Re-affirm our commitment to the recommendations of the 2013 United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on Information Security.
• Affirm that states should uphold additional, voluntary norms of state behavior in cyberspace during peacetime, recognizing that these norms should be consistent with existing international law.  In particular, the United States and Japan share the view that states should not conduct or knowingly support online activity that intentionally damages critical infrastructure or otherwise impairs the use of critical infrastructure to provide services to the public.  The United States and Japan commit to continued discussions to identify specific peacetime cyber norms, noting that wide affirmation among states would contribute to international stability in cyberspace.
• Strengthen whole-of-government cooperation on critical infrastructure cybersecurity, with an emphasis on preparations for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, and mission assurance.
• Seek to enhance global resilience of critical infrastructure through the promotion of principles like those in the National Institute of Standards and Technology Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity.
• Share information on threats and vulnerabilities in cyberspace and best practices in organizing, training, and equipping defense forces for the cyber mission.

d.     Energy

• Strengthen civil nuclear cooperation through the U.S.-Japan Bilateral Commission including in such areas as civil nuclear energy research and development, nuclear security, decommissioning and environmental management, emergency management, and safety and regulatory issues, with a common view that nuclear energy is an important base-load power source that will contribute to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.  Continue expert workshops, technical exchanges and involvement by U.S. companies and Department of Energy national laboratories that have contributed to the cleanup of the Fukushima Daiichi plant site and the surrounding area.
• Enhance dialogue on energy, through bilateral discussions on strategic implications and on technical coordination, including through the U.S.-Japan Energy Strategic Dialogue and U.S.-Japan Energy Policy Dialogue.
• Welcome the prospect of U.S. liquefied natural gas exports in the future since additional global supplies will benefit Japan and other strategic partners.
•  Following on the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), and for the success of the next NSS to be held in 2016, continue joint efforts on various initiatives.  In particular, work together to remove all highly enriched uranium and plutonium fuel from the Fast Critical Assembly in Japan in 2016.
• Welcome the entry into force on April 15 of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, and work together to encourage other states to join.
• Strengthen bilateral and multilateral collaboration in the field of clean energy technologies to create a low-carbon society by concluding an Implementing Arrangement concerning cooperation in Research and Development in Energy and Related fields, a Memorandum of Cooperation concerning collaboration in the field of Carbon Capture and Storage, and an extension of the Hawaii-Okinawa Partnership on Clean and Efficient Energy Development and Deployment, as well as by working together at the Clean Energy Ministerial and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.
• Continue U.S.-Japan scientific collaboration on methane hydrate research.

Cooperating to Promote Regional and Global Stability

Recognizing that a secure and stable environment makes possible all of the important work we do together, the United States and Japan seek to:

a.      U.N. Peacekeeping

• Enhance our cooperation on peacekeeping capacity building through such activities as the United States’ African Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership and the Japan-UN Project for Rapid Deployment of Engineering Capabilities in Africa.　

b.      Maritime Security

• Foster respect for international law, including the freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as peaceful settlement of maritime disputes.
• Coordinate capacity building assistance for maritime safety and security in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Strengthen regional cooperation to combat piracy and armed robbery against ships through Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP).

c. Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism (CVE)

• Take a comprehensive approach against terrorist activities and violent extremism.
• Support the U.S. initiative to host the CVE Summit and to launch the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund.
• Support Japan’s efforts to: strengthen counter-terrorism measures through capacity building assistance for border control in the Middle East/Africa region; enhance diplomacy towards stability and prosperity in the Middle East; and assist in creating societies resilient to radicalization by reducing income disparity and promoting youth employment and education.

Working Together to Promote Sustainable Development around the World

The United States and Japan are dedicated to advancing sustainable development, prosperity, and equality globally by taking joint action to:

a.      Development Cooperation

• Strengthen mutual collaboration and coordination with our development partners to ensure a successful Third International Conference on Financing for Development.
• Seek international agreement on an ambitious post-2015 Development Agenda that builds on the momentum of the Millennium Development Goals and serves as a powerful instrument to eradicate extreme poverty and foster sustainable global development. 
• Promote collaboration on global development, including in Africa, to improve food security, support health and education, increase access to electricity, and further the aims and outcomes of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development.
• Continue working together to support Myanmar’s reform efforts through a new “Initiative to Promote Fundamental Labour Rights and Practices in Myanmar”, launched in November 2014 to improve environments related to labor rights, along with Myanmar, Denmark and the International Labor Organization.
• Highlight the importance of allocating more of total assistance where needs are greatest and capacity to raise public resources domestically weakest, including least developed countries, low income countries, small island developing states, land-locked developing countries, and fragile and conflict-affected states.
• Further advance cooperation in the area of disaster risk reduction including collaboration for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation’s capacity building in this area, building on the successful outcomes of the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction and the Memorandum of Cooperation signed in December 2014 between the Federal Emergency Management Agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Cabinet Office of Japan.

b.      Environment and Climate Change

• Work together and with others to achieve a successful climate change agreement at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris.
• Mindful of the 2 ℃ goal, note U.S. announcement of its post-2020 target on March 31 to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent in 2025, and affirm that Japan intends to submit an ambitious target, as early as possible and well in advance of the COP21.  Both sides acknowledge the need to accelerate the transition to low-carbon economies.  
• Work together in assisting countries vulnerable to climate change by appropriate means such as the Green Climate Fund.
• Support the adoption of a Montreal Protocol amendment to phase down hydrofluorocarbons.
• Issue a statement this year regarding cooperation on conservation and sustainable use of marine fisheries resources, and thus global food security, including through joint efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
• Work together to secure robust marine fisheries provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership  agreement.
• Work to contribute to the objective of the Minamata Convention on Mercury by exploring opportunities for cooperation in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility. 
• Work to alleviate air pollution in the Asia-Pacific region envisioning possible collaboration with local governments to improve and certify their air quality levels.
• Cooperate in assisting partner countries to create and implement environmental education programs.
• Take full advantage of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator’s intended visit to Tokyo later this year to meet with Japan’s Minister of the Environment to advance this environmental cooperation.

c. Empowerment of Women and Girls

• Cooperate to empower women in Southeast Asia and Africa through such activities as business development programs in Ethiopia and business-to-business networking events through the United States’ African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program and Japan’s Business Women’s Entrepreneurship Program. 
• Welcome collaboration between the “World Assembly for Women in Tokyo (WAW!)” and the Equal Futures Partnership.
• Support training and empowerment of women and girls in Afghanistan including through cooperation between the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Japan International Cooperation Agency on the PROMOTE Program.
• Support girls’ education globally, including through: Japan’s community-based “School for All” concept; the United States’ “Let Girls Learn” initiative; renewed cooperation between the Peace Corps and Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers; increased focus and resources in respective bilateral assistance programs, including in Southeast Asia; and support for NGO work.

d. Global Health

• Cooperate on global health by combatting infectious diseases, including through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and by promoting maternal and child health.
• Continue partnering to fully end the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, rebuild sustainable health systems in the affected countries, and work together to capture lessons learned from the Ebola crisis to strengthen health systems in the Asia-Pacific Region.
• To advance the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), the United States is to partner with 30 countries, and Japan is to positively consider partnering with 3-5 countries to achieve the GHSA targets and action packages it has committed, and to spur progress toward full implementation of the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations so that partner countries can prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to infectious disease threats.  The United States and Japan are to work together and with partner nations to determine this set of countries and to synchronize global health security capacity building toward these common targets.

The partnership between the United States and Japan brings peace and prosperity, health and environmental protection, and advanced technology to the people of our two countries and to the world.  These efforts will continue to deepen and expand in line with the ever closer ties between the United States and Japan.