[Provisional Translation]

On Monday, April 2, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held a telephone talk with H.E. Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, on the latter's initiative. The outline of the discussion is as follows.

1. At the start of the talk Chancellor Merkel once again emphasized Germany's solidarity with Japan as it moves ahead with recovering from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Prime Minister Noda expressed his gratitude for this.
   
   
2. With regard to the European sovereign debt crisis, Chancellor Merkel explained the progress being made in Europe, such as the bolstering of the firewall, and expressed expectation over Japan's contribution on increasing the IMF resources. In response, Prime Minister Noda welcomed that an agreement on strengthening the firewall was reached, and said that based on that progress Japan will begin concrete considerations for contributing to IMF resource increase.
   
   
3. In addition, Prime Minister Noda affirmed that the early launch of negotiations on the Japan-EU EPA is important for further promoting cooperation between Japan and Europe. In response, Chancellor Merkel concurred on the importance of the Japan-EU EPA, and indicated that both sides should demonstrate flexibility.
   
   
4. The two leaders also exchanged views on the situation of North Korea and Iran. Prime Minister Noda said that if North Korea dares to conduct the missile launch, it would be a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, and stated that he would continue to strongly urge North Korea to exercise restraint in close coordination with Germany. Chancellor Merkel replied that she shared Prime Minister Noda's views entirely. Regarding the Iranian nuclear issue, the two leaders confirmed that they will continue to work together closely.