Faced with what it views as a growing Russian threat and a potential U.S. troop reduction in Europe, Germany is aiming to swiftly ramp up military-industrial cooperation with Japan as it seeks trustworthy partners to help shore up Europe¡¯s defenses, the country¡¯s envoy to Tokyo has said.

¡°We have no time to lose,¡± German Ambassador Petra Sigmund told The Japan Times.

¡°The threat we¡¯re facing is real as Russia might decide to test our ability to defend the sovereignty of European and NATO countries,¡± she said in an interview last week, less than a month after Germany¡¯s top military official warned that Moscow could be ready to attack NATO countries by 2029 ¡ª or earlier.