French and Japanese leaders to discuss Hormuz maritime security

Ania Nussbaum and Sakura Murakami, Bloomberg News on Mar 30, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

France’s Emmanuel Macron is traveling to Japan this week where he plans to explore closer cooperation on maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz once the fighting has ceased.

Macron is scheduled to meet Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday in Tokyo, with the bilateral agenda being roiled by the Middle East crisis and its global repercussions.

According to an official in Macron’s office, the leaders will discuss maritime security in Hormuz — although French and Japanese officials have stressed that any expanded role in the area would only be envisaged once the current conflict has subsided.

Japan and other Asian nations are far more reliant on oil that is sent through the strait than European countries, but U.S. President Donald Trump has directed most of his ire toward NATO countries for not sending warships to guard the waterway. On a recent visit to Washington, Takaichi explained to Trump about Japan’s constitutional limits on sending its military to any foreign war zone.

Still, Takaichi and Macron are eager to show they are playing a constructive role. On March 19, Japan and France issued a statement with the U.K., Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, pledging to work together to ensure safe passage through the strait and stabilize global energy markets.

Defense and economic security will be among the major themes of the summit meeting, according to French and Japanese officials, including talks about strengthening cooperation on critical raw materials.

Japan has been seeking to diversify its supply chains amid China’s dominance in the sector. Japanese industrial group Iwatani is already planning to source recycled rare earth materials from a site in Lacq, in southwestern France as part of broader efforts to develop alternative supply channels.

The two countries are also working on developing underwater mine-detection drones. They have a mutual interest in maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, where China is increasingly assertive. In September, Paris and Tokyo held a joint military exercise named Brunet-Takamori in New Calendonia, a French group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean.

To deepen military cooperation, France and Japan are working on an agreement that would clear legal obstacles for troops to train in either nation, although officials from both countries say a deal is unlikely to be reached in time for the summit.

On Wednesday Macron will also hold bilateral meetings with the CEOs of SoftBank, Iwatani and Horiba to tout France as a foreign investment haven ahead of his annual summit to attract foreign investors, dubbed Choose France, scheduled in June. France is also hosting the G-7 summit that month.

According to Macron’s office, Japan is France’s leading Asian investor and 10th globally, with $15.4 billion invested in 2024. Around 750 Japanese companies operate in France, employing 100,000 people.

Macron will travel to South Korea on Thursday for a state visit, the first since 2015.

The French delegation will include companies working in defense, space, transport, electric batteries and civil nuclear according to Macron’s office. Macron’s trip to Asia will end late Friday night with a dinner with K-Pop artists at a French restaurant in Seoul.