(Press Release, provisional translation)
May 1, 2025
Japan Ministry of Defense
From April 27 to 30, State Minister of Defense Honda visited France. The summary is as follows.
1. Meetings with the French Ministry of Armed Forces
State Minister of Defense Honda held meetings respectively with Mr. Patrick Pailloux, Director of Civil and Military Cabinet of the French Minister of Armed Forces, and Ms. Alice Rufo, Director General for the DGRIS.
State Minister of Defense Honda welcomed the advanced defense cooperation and exchanges between Japan and France including each military service regularly conducting joint exercises and the first high-level visit to France by a Japan Ministry of Defense senior official in 6 years. Furthermore, they exchanged views on regional security including Ukraine and the future Japan-France defense cooperation and exchanges.
They agreed to further enhance the Japan-France defense cooperation and exchanges in both bilateral and multilateral frameworks.
2. Meetings with French Politicians
State Minister of Defense Honda met with Mr. Jean-Michel Jacques, President of the Committee on National Defence and the Armed Forces of the National Assembly, and Mr. Pascal Allizard, Vice President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense of the Senate, to discuss broad topics including the bilateral defense cooperation and exchanges, regional affairs and defense policies.
3. Visit to COMCYBER
State Minister of Defense Honda visited COMCYBER in Rennes and held a discussion with Commander Nicholas Pierson.
State Minister of Defense Honda’s visit to France (Summary) (PDF)