köşe yazarı, Belçika
Staatsbezoek – België en Japan, een hereniging in het teken van vriendschap en samenwerking
State visit – Belgium and Japan, a reunion under the sign of friendship and cooperation jeroen.francois Fri, 06/19/2026 - 15:23 Press release Japan State visit Diplomatic map June 19, 2026 This year, Belgium and Japan are celebrating 160 years of diplomatic relations. On this occasion, Their Majesties the King and Queen welcome Their Imperial Majesties the Emperor Naruhito of Japan and his wife Empress Masako for a two-day state visit to Belgium, from June 23rd to 24th, 2026, under the sign of friendship and cooperation in many fields. Japan and Belgium share similar values, visions and interests, such as the preservation of the international order based on the rule of law and on international law, the maintenance of peace and security, and the fight against climate change. In a world marked by instability and great change, Belgium and Japan underline this crucial and lasting cooperation to face common threats. Japan is also a major economic and trade partner for Belgium. More than 280 Japanese companies are based in our country and contribute to nearly 30,000 jobs, in sectors such as automotive, industry, logistics, chemicals and biotechnology. In addition, Japan is also a key market for Belgian exports outside the European Union: the country of the Rising Sun is Belgium's 25th largest customer and its 4th largest non-European supplier. This State visit is therefore an opportunity to reaffirm the close ties between our two countries, which are also reflected in the special ties between the Belgian Royal Family and the Japanese Imperial Family. Day 1 Tuesday, June 23rd, the first day of the visit, will be marked by the welcoming ceremonies. The Emperor and Empress will first be welcomed by the King and Queen at the Royal Palace in Brussels. This will be followed by a meeting with the mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close, at City Hall. In the afternoon, the Emperor will be received by Prime Minister Bart De Wever at the Lambermont, in the presence of Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot. This will be followed by a meeting with representatives of the Chamber and the Senate in the Federal Parliament. The day will end with the traditional State banquet at the Castle of Laeken. Day 2 Wednesday, June 24th, will begin with a visit to the Castle of Namur, followed by a visit to the Citadel. The King and the Emperor will be welcomed by the Governor of the Province of Namur, Denis Mathen, and the mayor-in-title and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot. Located at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse rivers, the Walloon capital is a place steeped in history, with a unique biotope. River transportation has, for centuries, played a crucial role in the economy and development of the country. Even today, inland waterways make it possible to create European transport corridors and play an important role in the energy transition and sustainable cross-border logistics. This theme is of particular interest to the Emperor, who, following his studies at the University of Oxford, specialised in the history of river transportation and inland waterways. The afternoon will begin with a visit to Imec, the Belgian innovation centre and world leader in microelectronics. The semiconductors that are developed there, are part of our daily lives: smartphones, cars, artificial intelligence, etc. They shape the world of today and tomorrow. Japan has been investing heavily in the development and production of cutting-edge electronic chips, making it a preferred partner of Imec for nearly 40 years. As such, Imec has developed more than 100 partnerships with Japanese research centers and companies. The afternoon will continue with a visit to KU Leuven, the oldest university in Belgium, which brings together more than 60,000 students and 8,000 researchers. Thanks to numerous academic cooperation agreements, student and researcher exchanges between Belgian and Japanese universities are particularly dynamic. During the visit, a special interest will be paid to the East Asian Library. Indeed, after the university's general library was burned down during World War I, Japan made a major contribution to international efforts to rebuild and replenish the library's collections. Thousands of ancient Japanese works – dating from the 12th to the 19th century – were donated at the time and still stand today alongside the greatest masterpieces of Flemish culture. The day will end with a visit to the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken and the Japanese Tower. This iconic tower was erected following the 1900 World Expo, with materials coming directly from Yokohama (Kanagawa Prefecture), with some elements even dating back to the Edo period. It will also be an opportunity to show the botanical richness of the park and the greenhouses to the Imperial Couple. On Thursday 25 June, the King and Queen will officially bid farewell to the Imperial Couple at the Castle of Laeken, before they take off from Melsbroek Airport. This visit underlines the close ties between Belgium and Japan as privileged partners for 160 years. It is an opportunity to confirm and strengthen our cooperation in many areas, both bilaterally and multilaterally. Keep up-to-date Subscribe to our newsletters to stay informed about the activities of our FPS Our spokespersons David Jordens david.jordens@diplobel.fed.be Pierre Steverlynck pierre.steverlynck@diplobel.fed.be Florinda Baleci florinda.baleci@diplobel.fed.be Social Media Hide all social media Show all social media
Belçika ve Japonya 160 Yıllık Diplomatik İlişkileri Devlet Ziyaretiyle TaçlandırdıWhy a single 'peace deal' for Ukraine war just won't work
The time is ripe for European leaders to set aside the self-licking summits in European capitals and get in the room with the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia to orchestrate a modern-day Helsinki Conference. A durable peace for Ukraine will require several interlocking agreements, each of which will be incredibly difficult to negotiate, but all of which will be vital if we are to avoid a general war in Europe. In a recent post on X, former U.S. diplomat Dan Fried, commenting on the June 7 E3 Leaders’ Statement on peace in Ukraine, said, “If Russia wants to end the war it can, you know, end the war.” It’s important to pause here and note that Fried was the State Department Coordinator for Sanctions Policy from 2013 until 2017. I know, because I was directly involved at the time, that Fried is the architect of the policy of making Russia sanctions permanent by linking them to the full implementation of the Minsk II agreement, which Russia and Ukraine interpreted in radically different ways. The main aim of sanctions conditionality was therefore to delay any possibility of peaceful settlement, and in that it succeeded. Eleven years on, Fried’s remark echoes a common line of argument in pro-war Western circles: that Russia could simply end the war without a negotiated settlement. And yet an unconditional about-face by Russia is quite obviously never going to happen, and so the comment serves only to prolong the war. The E3 statement flowed from the same logic. It offered nothing new or unexpected. Critically, it reiterated the line that roughly $300 billion of Russian assets will remain immobilized until Russia “ceases its war of aggression and compensates Ukraine for the damage caused by the war.” The current World Bank estimate of the cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine stands at $588 billion. So, the E3 position amounts to confirmation that Russia will never see its money again and moreover will still have $288 billion left to pay. This, I fear, is another example of Fried’s logic — that peace in Ukraine is indeed possible, but only on terms that Russia would be unable or unwilling to accept. As Western mainstream media carpet bombs the world with news that Ukraine is turning the tide in the war and could still win, then the calculus may be among Western policy hawks that continuing the war is no bad thing. It’s certainly clear that no one appears in a rush. The E3 statement follows a sixteen-month period of endless and repetitive meetings by European leaders and Zelensky in which everyone violently agrees, but to which the Russians are never invited. Only in recent months, notably since President Donald Trump’s Alaska Summit with Putin, has the topic of a negotiated end to the Ukraine war slowly bubbled to the surface in Europe. President Alexander Stubb of Finland, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Bart de Wever of Belgium have at various times dipped their toes in the water of suggesting diplomatic talks with Russia. Last week, Zelensky himself issued an open letter to Putin about a possible meeting. But, being that the letter contained several pages of personal barbs and insults about Putin, it is hard to see this as anything more than a self-licking stunt, of the type Dan Fried would support. The Europeans and Zelensky appear dug in for the long haul. A senior Russian contact remarked to me recently that the Europeans spend a lot of time talking about the possibility of talks, but not the substance of what might be on the agenda. In truth, a vast amount of work will be needed in preparatory negotiations to map out the shape of a future peace settlement, requiring a clarity of focus that has hitherto been missing. A durable peace for Ukraine will require several interlocking deals, possibly negotiated separately with different signatories. Talk of a single ‘peace deal’ for Ukraine is a lazy over-simplification. The latest E3 statement bundles up separate issues in the same basket as does the now dormant US brokered plan. A peace settlement for Ukraine will require, inter alia, the following. A bilateral peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by the U.S. and others. The existing U.S.-brokered draft is the right place to start, as that includes the most contentious issue of territory, and in particular the future status of the remaining territory in Donetsk which Russia has not conquered. It would also need to cover sensitive topics such as the size of Ukraine’s army, Ukrainian children who were removed to Russia, and minority languages in Ukraine. A clear plan and timeline for Ukraine to join the European Union. This can only be negotiated bilaterally by the EU and Ukraine, without U.S. or British involvement. It is arguably as difficult as a bilateral peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. Zelensky has said he wants to see Ukrainian accession by 2027, but this is not going to happen, and not only because the war may still be ongoing. The Europeans aren’t over eager about Ukraine joining because Ukraine is nowhere near ready, and Europe can’t afford it. Chancellor Merz has recently resurfaced the idea of “associate membership,” in which Ukraine gets no voting rights or money. Every rational observer should be able to judge that many Ukrainians will want clarity on the glidepath towards EU membership as a condition for ending the war. An agreement between Russia and Europe, including the United Kingdom, on the future shape of their relationship. The third issue is equally as complex. Should Ukraine eventually join the EU, then it would join existing former Soviet and Warsaw Pact members (the Balts and Poland) who frame Russia as an existential threat. Relations between Europe and Russia are more shuttered today than they were during the Soviet era. Europe needs cheap energy to stem the tide of self-imposed deindustrialization; Russia would like European investment again and a more open people-to-people relationship. There will need to be a settlement on how sanctions against Russia are eased during a post-war period. Ignoring an EU-Russia deal risks pressing the pause button on a future general war at a time when Europe is rapidly rearming, An agreement within NATO. A peace settlement for Ukraine will only land when its future NATO aspiration is taken decisively off of the table. Anyone who still believes that Russia will give up on this clearest of redlines is dangerously misguided. Ukraine needs cast iron security guarantees that should involve a hard commitment to boots on the ground should Russia renege on its commitments.This will require Russia to have confidence that NATO isn’t stoking the fire in the background to reignite tensions as a pretext for intervention. These are incredibly complex issues and will require U.S. leadership to shift the Europeans into line. The NATO-Russia Council could have provided a forum for discussion and deconfliction but was formally disbanded in December 2025. Perhaps a NATO-Ukraine-Russia Council might emerge, to take its place, reopening a vital avenue for military dialogue and deconfliction. Amid signs that the Trump Administration is tiring of the Ukraine peace process, the time is ripe for a serious push to bring the disastrous war in Ukraine to a close. Rather than the Europeans and Americans tussling over who should be in charge of the negotiations, the truth is that every Western nation will have a role to play, together with Ukraine and Russia, to hammer out the various agreements needed for peace. That may require a grand summit similar in scale to the Helsinki Conference of 1975. On the back of the E3 Statement, however, I am not holding my breath.
Ukrayna'da kalıcı barış için tek bir anlaşma yeterli olmayacak