The European Union is holding a summit with Japan in Brussels later today.
The high level gathering precedes the G20 meeting, which is to take place in Osaka in June.
It also comes less than two months after the EU-Japan trade deal came into force.
The EU-Japan summit will bring together leaders from both sides to discuss trade, strategic cooperation and preparations for the forthcoming G20 gathering.
The EU will be represented by Donald Tusk, President of the European Council and Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission.
Japan will be represented by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
99% of Japanese imports and 97% of European Union imports will have their tariffs scrapped under the terms of the EU Japan trade deal. The EU is hoping this will lead to a boost in exports to Japan in the region of of 13%.
But there are still disagreements between the two parties – these include the issue of climate change; the trade deal between the two is the first of its kind to recognise a need to follow the terms of the 2015 Paris climate change accord.
There are still concerns on the EU side that Japan has not yet turned this commitment into legislation to counter climate change.