Bee in Tokyo's bonnet honey talks to Washington

The Japanese economy minister's trip to Washington, in advance of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to the United States, was an explicit sign that countering China is now front and center in Japan's foreign policy.

In his meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura discussed "the importance of working together to promote and protect critical and emerging technologies, including through R&D and export controls", according to a US Commerce Department readout.

With US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the Japanese economy chief signed a memorandum of cooperation for a task force on the promotion of human rights and international labor standards in supply chains.