Calming fears

Even as far away as Japan, German President Christian Wulff could not escape talk of the eurozone's debt crisis, where he assured his hosts that Berlin was doing its part to ensure Europe would overcome its difficulties.

"Having now all glimpsed into the abyss, we must become more ready to draw the consequences," Wulff said Monday in Tokyo, during the second day of his state visit to Japan.

He pledged that Europe would "find the strength to see this crisis as an opportunity."

Wulff added the sovereign debt crisis was not limited to Europe but was a "worldwide trend." Japan's debt is currently some 200 percent of gross domestic product.

Defending the euro

In a bid to assuage Japanese investor fears, Wulff said the joint euro currency was not in crisis and defended the euro itself as a "success story."

But Europe's banks, he said, are in danger "because there's been gambling and speculation - to an extent that stretches beyond the imagination."

The largely ceremonial head of the German state said the European Union needed more financial regulation, including a stronger sanctions mechanism for rule-breaking member states, limits on the powers of rating agencies, and a ban on the practice of short-selling, which he labeled "absurd."

Wulff admitted that Germany in the past had failed to uphold the so-called Maastricht criteria, set by the EU for the adoption of the euro, but he said Germany was now fully exercising its responsibilities.

Closer ties

Meeting with Japanese Emperor Akihito, as well as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and industrial leaders on Monday, Wulff also spoke in favor of closer ties between the world's third- and fourth-largest economies.

He said that Japanese innovation could be of great use when it came to Germany's planned nuclear power phase-out. He explained that Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster earlier this year had led to Berlin deciding to shut Germany's atomic plants by 2022.

Germany's nuclear shutdown is the main discussion point of the trip, according to Wulff, who has likened the energy switch to the United States' race to put a "man on the moon."

"The Americans pulled that off," he said. "We'll manage our nuclear phase-out too."

While Japan's plans to reduce its own nuclear energy production do not go as far as the German plans, Wulff said there is one lesson Germany can learn from its Asian partner: how Japan managed to reduce energy consumption by 15 percent in the months following the Fukushima incident.

On Tuesday, Wulff is set to visit the northern Japanese disaster area to see first-hand the aftermath of the tsunami and nuclear meltdown, as well as the rebuilding efforts, seven months on.

He is set to meet with some of the half million people who lost their homes, but said he will make an effort to avoid giving the impression his visit is an act of "disaster tourism."

Wulff's visit marks the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Germany and Japan.

Author: Volker Witting, Tokyo / dl

Editor: Ben Knight