The German government's recently released 'Indo-Pacific Guidelines' outline Germany's basic diplomatic direction in the Indo-Pacific region, with support for a rules-based international economic order as a key policy goal. This stems from a sense of crisis regarding a system that is overly reliant on specific countries economically.

China is Germany's largest trading partner, accounting for about 50% of its total trade volume. However, in the face of intensifying US-China rivalry, Germany can no longer focus solely on cooperation with China. The need to identify diverse partners for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region has become apparent in terms of politics, economics, and security.

Accordingly, Germany has identified the digital sector as an area where it expects close cooperation with Japan. This is because Japan's Society 5.0 policy and Germany's Industry 4.0 policy share significant compatibility. It emphasizes that both countries should appropriately reflect values of data protection and human-centered approaches in establishing standards and developing technologies in the digital field.

The two countries also see significant potential for cooperation between their businesses in the infrastructure market. With Asia's infrastructure investment projected to reach $1.7 trillion annually for the next 30 years, there is a need for both countries to collaborate and strengthen their position in the Asian infrastructure market in response to China's Belt and Road Initiative. Japan and the EU already concluded a partnership in 2019 for the construction of sustainable and high-quality infrastructure.

Responding to environmental issues is another priority for the German government and businesses. Germany expects to cooperate with Japan in advanced environmental technologies such as renewable energy to contribute to solving global challenges. In the ASEAN region, the two countries see significant opportunities for collaboration on addressing biodiversity conservation and urbanization challenges.

Germany's Indo-Pacific strategy, as described above, identifies Japan as a key partner, emphasizing the protection of a rules-based international economic order. It is notable for highlighting bilateral cooperation in the digital, infrastructure, and environmental sectors. It remains to be seen whether the two countries will concretize practical cooperation projects in areas where they share strategic interests.