NEW YORK, September 24 — Japan, the United States and South Korea declared in a joint statement that they stand firmly against economic coercion, including arbitrary export restrictions, in language aimed squarely at China. The statement followed talks of about 40 minutes among Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi of Japan, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun.
The three ministers agreed to cooperate on formulating resilient supply chain strategies and welcomed progress in regional energy-sector cooperation, including “Powerr Asia” (Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience Asia), a Japan-led energy procurement framework. They also agreed to continue cooperation on maritime matters in the Arctic and on expanding energy supplies, but did not sign a memorandum of understanding on those efforts, for which relevant arrangements had been made.
Taiwan Strait and North Korea
The ministers emphasized the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and reaffirmed their opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo there, ahead of a U.S.-China summit scheduled for Thursday. They further agreed to work toward the complete denuclearization of North Korea and the immediate resolution of the issue of the abductions of Japanese nationals by that country. After the trilateral meeting, Motegi held a private discussion with Rubio for about 10 minutes.
According to a Japanese government source, the two discussed situations in the Indo-Pacific region. Regarding U.S. sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane, Motegi told Rubio that the sanctions “are incompatible with Japan’s position.” The joint statement’s reference to economic coercion, including arbitrary export restrictions, was made with China in mind.
The talks took place in New York on Monday, with the announcement dated September 24, 2026, in reporting from New York and Washington by Ryoji Fukazawa and Hirotaka Kuriyama of The Yomiuri Shimbun. A photograph of the three ministers — Cho, Rubio and Motegi, from left — was released by the Japan Foreign Ministry in cooperation with The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Related coverage noted in the same reporting includes a New York summit at which Japan Prime Minister Takaichi and U.S. President Trump affirmed the unbreakable Japan-U.S. alliance, and Takaichi’s address at the UN General Assembly stressing the rule of law and highlighting AI concerns. The trilateral statement is the central outcome of Monday’s roughly 40-minute meeting, with the supply chain, energy and maritime cooperation items framed as areas for continued work rather than signed commitments.
What to watch next: whether the three governments convert those stated intentions into formal agreements, and how Beijing responds to a joint statement that names no country but clearly has one in mind.
