Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau agreed in a telephone conversation Tuesday to press the United States on climate change after Washington announced it would leave the Paris agreement designed to curb global warming.
Abe and Trudeau reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the 2015 accord, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda told reporters.
According to Hagiuda, Abe told Trudeau that the U.S. exit was "disappointing" and that he will keep searching for a way to cooperate with Washington on climate change. Trudeau responded that he shares that stance and will keep working on the issue.
Canada proposed the call to discuss how the Group of Seven industrialized nations should deal with climate change in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal, Hagiuda said. Canada will chair G-7 meetings next year.
At this year's G-7 summit held in Italy last month, Abe and Trudeau were among the leaders other than U.S. President Donald Trump affirming their commitment to the climate accord.
The two leaders also confirmed they will work in close coordination to bring the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact into force, Hagiuda said. Japan and Canada are among the 11 Pacific Rim signatories left in the pact following the exit of the United States soon after Trump took office in January.
Abe and Trudeau also affirmed their resolve to stand together with the international community to fight terrorism, Hagiuda said. Abe conveyed his sympathies to Trudeau over the death of a Canadian national in Saturday's terrorist attack in London.
They also shared their awareness about the new level of threat posed by North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, the importance of intensifying pressure on the North, and the necessity of urging China to play a greater role in the matter, he said.
