Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and leaders of the European Union held talks here Saturday to strengthen Japan-EU ties before discussing the reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan.
Koizumi met with Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, European Commission President Romano Prodi and EU foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana for the regular Japan-EU summit meeting.
Belgium currently holds the rotating EU presidency and Koizumi arrived in the Belgian capital Friday evening
"Relations between Japan and the EU have deepened year by year, but they are somewhat weaker when compared with Japan's relations with the United States or its relations with Asia," Koizumi told reporters.