Live updates | Japan: Macron's reelection key to G-7 unity

Japan welcomed the reelection of French President Emmanuel Macron as key to the unity of Group of Seven at a time when its members need to work together to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine as soon as possible.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida congratulated Macron in his Twitter messages in both Japanese and French, saying, "I hope to closely work with President Macron in a wide range of issues, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region." Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki on Monday extended "heartfelt congratulations" to Macron on his reelection.

"As we face a critical moment to end Russia's outrageous aggression and defend the peaceful world order, the G-7 unity is required more than ever, and we plan to continue working closely with France led by President Macron," Isozaki said.

Japan, worried about the impact of Russian invasion of Ukraine in the East Asia where China is increasingly taking assertive military actions, has tried to play a greater role as part of G-7 and has joined in sanctions against Moscow and provided support for Ukraine in line with other members.

Isozaki called France "an important, special partner for Japan" that shares universal values including freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. He said Tokyo intends to strengthen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

___ Canberra (Australia) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is welcoming President Emmanuel Macron's reelection to a second term in France as a "great expression of liberal democracy." Macron was scathing of Morrison after Australia's conservative government canceled a 90 billion Australian dollar ($66 billion) submarine contract in September.

Macron accused Morrison of lying to him about the state of the French contract before a deal was announced for the United States and Britain to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. Morrison denied misleading Macron, who refused to take the Australian leader's phone calls.

On Monday, Morrison tweeted: "Congratulations Emmanuel Macron on your reelection as President. Another great expression of liberal democracy in action in uncertain times." "We wish you & France every success, in particular your leadership in Europe and as an important partner to Australia in the Indo-Pacific," Morrison added.

___ Kyiv - Ukraine's leader has congratulated Emmanuel Macron on winning a second term as president of France - and beating a far-right rival seen as close to Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelenskyy called Macron "a true friend of Ukraine"on Sunday and expressed appreciation for his support. Tweeting in French, Zelenskyy said: "I'm convinced that we will advance together toward new joint victories. Toward a strong and united Europe!" Macron has sought a diplomatic solution to Russia's war in Ukraine. France has also sent significant weapons to Ukraine and Macron is planning more. In a TV debate ahead of Sunday's runoff, Macron assailed challenger Marine Le Pen's past ties to Russia, notably a loan her party got from a Russian-Czech bank in 2014.

___ Paris - Watching France's presidential election results was especially stressful for Yasmina Aksas.

The 19-year-old law student could have been forced to remove her headscarf if far-right leader Marine Le Pen had won instead of incumbent Emmanuel Macron.

Speaking to AP as the first projections came in showing Macron in the lead, Aksas was visible relieved - but far from overjoyed.

"It's still 40% of people voting for Le Pen. It's reassuring that it's Macron but it's not a victory," said Aksas, who is active in feminist and social justice organizations. "It reflects nothing of what I think and what I identify with." She expressed concern about extremist language and ideas that "used to be limited to militant far-right groups" but have now entered the mainstream.

Under Macron's presidency, she described encroaching limits on Muslims in the name of fighting extremism. "They made it a problem for everyone while remaining vague about who the menace is." "So if you feel concerned about what they're doing, like closing mosques, associations, when they say they're targeting jihadists, you shouldn't feel targeted, otherwise you are suspected of not being part of the republic." ___ MORE STORIES: - Macron vs Le Pen: France votes in tense presidential runoff - France's presidential rivals: Key moments, private lives - EXPLAINER: How France's old-school voting system works OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: ___ Berlin- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was the first foreign leader to call President Emmanuel Macron and congratulate him on his reelection, Scholz' office said.

"The Federal Chancellor and the President confirmed their intention to continue the close and trusting relationship between Germany and France, not least in view of the current challenges such as the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine," Scholz office said in a statement.

It also said the result "signified a clear commitment to Europe and the European unification process," adding that Scholz and Macron agreed to meet as soon as possible.

The Czech prime minister also sent his congratulations to Macron.

"France is our vital partner, we are keen on developing our great relationship further," Petr Fiala tweeted.

___ Paris - Rights groups have breathed a sigh of relief at Marine Le Pen's failure to become French president, but warned against complacency and urged the victor, Emmanuel Macron, to fight racial profiling and discrimination against Muslims, and better protect migrants.

Cécile Coudriou, head of Amnesty International France, cited "egregious human rights failings" under Macron's presidency including "France's treatment of refugees and asylum at its borders, systemic discrimination in the form of ethnic profiling by police, disproportionate and dangerously vague counter-terror laws, curbs to the right to protest, intrusive surveillance that impacts the right to privacy, failing to uphold climate commitments and selling arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates." Antiracism group SOS Racisme said : "This victory, which might look large in a cursory analysis, is not so much a victory as a relief. The reality is that Marine Le Pen ... has progressed by about eight points in five years." It criticized Macron's law against so-called "separatism" by radical Muslims and government ministers' criticism of "wokeism" or "Islamo-leftism." It blamed Macron's "arrogance, (economic) liberalism, brutalization of the social movement and nods to the far right" for worsening tensions in France. "It is definitely not neutral to help trivialize the far right by choosing' it as its opposition and winking at it," it said.

___ Paris - President Emmanuel Macron said a simple "Thank you!" after winning reelection, and praised the majority who gave him five more years at the helm of France.

Macron also thanked people who voted for him not because they embrace his ideas but because they wanted to reject far-right rival Marine Le Pen.

"I'm not the candidate of one camp anymore, but the president of all of us," he said.

Macron comfortably won reelection to a second term Sunday, according to polling agencies' projections.

He arrived on the plaza where his supporters gathered, beneath the Eiffel Tower, to the sound of the "Ode to Joy," the European Union's anthem, hand in hand with his wife, Brigitte.

___ Paris - Supporters of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen gathered at her election-night even in Paris' Bois de Boulogne booed loudly as provisional results were announced.

But they quickly looked ahead to June legislative elections - as did Le Pen in her concession speech.

Francois Denormand, a retired dentist planning to run for a seat as a lawmaker for Le Pen's National Rally party in June's legislative elections said that what he called "the third round" starts tomorrow.

"We must continue to fight," he said. "We can lose the battle but not the war." Nineteen-year-old Paul Renkert, waving a French flag, admitted that "I'm sad." Renkert, who had traveled from the eastern Alsace region, said he had invested time in Le Pen's campaign "because I believe in the future of France." He is looking ahead to the legislative elections and five years in the future when a new president is elected. Le Pen has not made known her intentions, but "I don't think she'll abandon us," he said.

Guests from abroad were among those invited to the soiree. Among them was Tom Lamont, with Belgium's far-right Vlaams Belang party, an ally of Le Pen's National Rally. He, too, sent out a message of hope. "It's a disappointment she lost but we see the right-wing movements is growing in France … and maybe in five years we will have a right-wing president" here," he said.

___ Madrid - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says that with the victory of Emmanuel Macron as projected by polling agencies, "Democracy wins, Europe wins." "Citizens have chosen a France committed to a free, strong and fair EU," Sánchez, who is also leader of Spain's Socialist Party, wrote, referring to the 27-nation European Union.

Sánchez, Portugal's António Costa and Germany's Olaf Scholz had published a joint open letter ahead of Sunday's election presenting the vote as a choice between Macron, a defender of democracy in a strong European Union, and Marine Le Pen, "an extreme-right candidate who openly sides with those who attack our freedom and democracy, values based on the French ideas of Enlightenment." ___ Paris - French far-right figure Eric Zemmour, who failed to reach the runoff in the presidential election, has called for a nationalist coalition to be created in France's parliament.

Zemmour spoke after polling agencies projected that far-right leader Marine Le Pen, head of the National Rally party, had lost the presidential election to centrist incumbent Emmanuel Macron.

Zemmour, who created his own party, "Reconquest," in recent months, said "the national bloc must get united." He suggested such a coalition ahead of June's parliamentary elections, with the aim to fight both Macron's party and the left.

Zemmour received 7% of the votes in the first round of the presidential election on April 10.

___ European leaders have been quick to congratulate French President Emmanuel Macron on his re-election.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has often sparred with Macron over Brexit and other issues, swiftly congratulated the re-elected president.

Calling France "one of our closest and most important allies," Johnson said he looked forward to "continuing to work together on the issues which matter most to our two countries and to the world." Italian Premier Mario Draghi said that Macron's victory "is splendid news for all of Europe." He said "France and Italy are working side by side, along with the other European partners, to construct a stronger, more cohesive, more just European Union, capable of being a protagonist in the greatest challenges of our times, starting with the war in Ukraine." Portugal's Prime Minister António Costa says that, by voting for Emmanuel Macron, "French people have demonstrated once again their commitment to the European project." Costa, a socialist who was re-elected earlier this year in a landslide victory, wrote Sunday in a tweet that he was enthusiastic about working together with the centrist politician during the next four years.

The Portuguese prime minister made a case for voting to elect Macron in an open letter also signed by his Spanish and German counterparts, Pedro Sánchez and Olaf Scholz.

___ Paris - Leftist leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said Sunday that Marine Le Pen's defeat in the French election is "very good news for the unity of our people," and vowed to lead the fight against Emmanuel Macron's party in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Melenchon, who failed to reach the second round by a few hundred thousand votes and had urged his supporters not to vote for Le Pen, said Macron's "presidential monarchy survives by default and under the constraint of a biased choice." In his address, Melenchon exhorted Macron's opponents to vote in June's parliamentary elections to "choose a different path" and elect a majority of leftist lawmakers. Melenchon said he would be prepared to lead an opposition government. "Courage, action, determination, always refusing fatality and resignation," Melenchon said.