Relationship dossier
Canada
Japan
Relationship assessment
Canada and Japan sustain a broad partnership in trade, diplomacy and security.
Canada toward Japan
+60Canada participates with Japan in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and has pursued closer bilateral security cooperation, including through the Canada-Japan Action Plan for contributing to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Japan toward Canada
+60Japan participates with Canada in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and has pursued closer bilateral security cooperation, including through the Canada-Japan Action Plan for contributing to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Overall relationship
+60The relationship rests on durable trade cooperation through the CPTPP and expanding bilateral security and diplomatic coordination, including an Indo-Pacific action plan. These ties support a close partnership, while the absence of a mutual-defense treaty distinguishes it from a formal alliance.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Canada and Japan maintain a sustained, broad partnership spanning trade, diplomacy and security. Both participate in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and their governments have developed bilateral defense and Indo-Pacific cooperation. The relationship is close, though it is not a formal mutual-defense alliance.
Key developments
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership entered into force for Canada and Japan.
Canada and Japan launched an action plan to advance bilateral cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Major uncertainties
- The extent and practical implementation of recent bilateral defense cooperation may evolve.