Today, the first-ever bilateral framework agreement between the EU and its member states and Japan, the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), enters into force. This milestone agreement will guide future engagement between the parties and ensure closer political and economic cooperation on an array of bilateral, regional and multilateral issues. Thanks to the SPA, the EU and Japan will be better placed to strengthen the multilateral and rules-based global order having the UN at its core, and defend joint values and principles such as: the rule of law, democracy, respect for human rights, open markets, free and fair trade. Concerning the bilateral dimension, the agreement will enhance security cooperation, collaboration in the fight against terrorism and serious international crimes, as well as against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Furthermore the SPA will boost sectorial cooperation in fields such as: space, information and communication technologies, industrial policy, energy, transport, education, research and innovation. A joint committee will coordinate the overall partnership providing a forum to discuss all the issues covered in the agreement. In addition the agreement sets up a dispute settlement procedure to deal with possible controversies. BackgroundOn 17 July 2018 the EU and Japan signed the agreement in Tokyo. The European Parliament gave its consent on 12 December 2018, and on 5 April 2024, the ratification procedures of the agreement by member states were finalised. In parallel to the negotiations on the SPA, the EU and its member states opened negotiations for an economic partnership agreement with Japan on 29 November 2012. These began in April 2013 and the contents of the first-ever bilateral framework agreement between the EU and Japan were finalised in April 2018. The decision on the conclusion of the strategic partnership agreement was adopted by the Council on 22 April 2024, clearing the path for the agreement's entry into force today. | 
