Relationship dossier
Italy
Japan
Relationship assessment
Italy and Japan have a growing strategic partnership, including cooperation on defense and advanced combat aircraft.
Italy toward Japan
+40The Italian government has strengthened cooperation with Japan through the strategic partnership and bilateral action plan. Italy also joined Japan and the United Kingdom in the Global Combat Air Programme and signed a reciprocal access agreement with Japan to facilitate defense cooperation.
Japan toward Italy
+40The Japanese government has strengthened cooperation with Italy through the strategic partnership and bilateral action plan. Japan also joined Italy and the United Kingdom in the Global Combat Air Programme and signed a reciprocal access agreement with Italy to facilitate defense cooperation.
Overall relationship
+40The relationship has a sustained cooperative structure, reinforced by a strategic partnership, an action plan and reciprocal defense arrangements. Joint participation in the Global Combat Air Programme adds a substantial long-term industrial and security dimension. These features support a positive assessment without implying 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
Italy and Japan have expanded government cooperation through a strategic partnership, a bilateral action plan and closer defense ties. Both countries participate in the Global Combat Air Programme, and they signed a reciprocal access agreement to facilitate defense cooperation. These arrangements indicate sustained, growing cooperation, though the available examples do not amount to an alliance.
Key developments
Italy and Japan elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership.
The two governments signed a reciprocal access agreement to facilitate defense cooperation.
Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom established the Global Combat Air Programme for joint development of a next-generation combat aircraft.
Major uncertainties
- The extent to which the bilateral action plan has been implemented is unclear.
- The future scope and practical use of reciprocal defense access arrangements remain uncertain.