Latest news with #Japan-NATO
The Diplomat
a day ago
- Politics
- The Diplomat
Why Did Japan Skip the NATO Summit?
On June 23, Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru canceled his attendance at the NATO summit held in The Hague from June 24 to 25. Ishiba had originally planned to attend to 'reaffirm with NATO allies and others the recognition that the security of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable,' according to an announcement from the Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Ministry cited 'various circumstances' for Ishiba's cancelation, which came a day after the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Japan – along with the other Indo-Pacific 4 (IP4) countries, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand – were invited to the annual NATO summit, as they have been every year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This year was the first time since then-Prime Minister Kishida Fumio attended in 2022 that the Japanese prime minister skipped the NATO summit. Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi attended the summit instead. During his 30-minute meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the two sides welcomed the progress in Japan-NATO relations since Rutte's visit to Tokyo in April, and 'concurred to work together to elevate the Japan-NATO cooperation to a new height in various fields, including the defense industry.' In a notable setback for this goal, however, a NATO official confirmed that NATO was not currently discussing opening a Tokyo liaison office. Japan had been pursuing such an office to strengthen ties with NATO at least since spring 2023, but France had opposed it due to concerns about China's backlash. Germany was also cautious. Also at the NATO summit, Iwaya had a 10-minute meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, where they both agreed to support the ministerial-level negotiations on tariffs between the two countries and confirmed that they would communicate closely to maintain the Israel-Iran ceasefire. The 'various circumstances' alluded to with regards to Ishiba's cancelation likely included the U.S. strike on Iran – which would make a Japan-U.S. bilateral summit meeting difficult to schedule – and the decisions of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to not attend – which made an IP4-U.S. summit meeting impossible. (New Zealand's prime minister was the only top leader from the IP4 countries present.) Another consideration is the upper house elections in Japan, now scheduled for July 20. Some in Japan have criticized Ishiba for not attending, arguing that the prime minister should have tried harder to get other regional countries to attend. Even with hindsight, it can be difficult to know what the right course of action was, but the limited amount of time between the U.S. strikes on Iran and the start of the summit would have severely constrained Ishiba's freedom of maneuver, even if Albanese and Lee would have been receptive to foreign interference. Such criticism also seems to miss how dramatically the world has changed since the NATO summit of 2022, when Japan was shoulder-to-shoulder with its sole ally rallying international opinion against Russia's war. The NATO summit of 2025 occurred in a context where the U.S. has backtracked on support for Ukraine, and Japan faced a dilemma over how to respond to its ally's actions in Iran. Another possible reason that Ishiba stayed home was continued disagreement between the United States and Japan over Tokyo's defense spending and ample signals that allies' defense spending would be a key theme at the NATO summit. Japan is on track to meet its stated goal of spending 2 percent of its GDP on national security-related spending by 2027. According to a June 20 Financial Times report, however, a sudden demand from Washington for Tokyo to increase defense spending still further led Japan to cancelled the annual '2+2' security dialogue between the Japanese and U.S. foreign affairs and defense chiefs scheduled for July 1 in Washington, DC. However, it is unclear whether the meeting was 'canceled' or 'postponed.' From Japan's perspective, part of the problem is the ever-shifting goalposts for defense spending. U.S. officials have at times urged different benchmarks for defense spending, from 3 percent to 3.5 percent or even 5 percent of GDP. Earlier, in his written response to questions from U.S. senators, then-nominee for under secretary of defense for policy Elbridge Colby (who has since been confirmed) had answered that Japan should spend 'at least 3 percent of GDP on defense as soon as possible.' Following the agreement at the NATO summit that members will increase their defense and related spending to 5 percent of GDP, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt answered a reporter's question about U.S. Asia-Pacific allies: 'If our allies in Europe and our NATO allies can do it, I think our allies and our friends in the Asia-Pacific region can do it as well.' Following the NATO summit, a senior Japanese government official acknowledged, 'There's no doubt that the United States will step up its demands.' An expert panel is currently reviewing the next Defense Buildup Program within the Ministry of Defense, and there is a widespread view within the ministry that increasing Japan's defense spending is inevitable given the severe security environment. However, it is still unclear where the additional funding would come from. The previous Kishida Cabinet had decided to raise income taxes to achieve the 2 percent target yet the timing for the tax hike has not been determined yet.
3 days ago
- Politics
NATO Not Discussing Tokyo Office Plan: Official
News from Japan Jun 25, 2025 19:04 (JST) The Hague, June 25 (Jiji Press)--NATO is not currently discussing a plan to open a liaison office in Tokyo, an organization official has told reporters at the venue of the ongoing NATO summit in The Hague, the Netherlands. Japan has hoped that the liaison office would strengthen its ties with NATO, but the plan now seems to have been dropped. The official said Tuesday that there are many other ways to strengthen Japan-NATO relations. The liaison office plan came to light in spring 2023, and the Japanese government supported it. However, France has opposed the plan, due to concerns about a possible backlash from China. Germany has also been cautious about the plan. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Today
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Ishiba to visit Netherlands from Tuesday for NATO summit
Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, right, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, shake hands at the end of a joint press briefing, at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on April 9. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will be in the Netherlands for three days from Tuesday to attend a NATO summit, the government said Friday, as Japan aims to deepen its partnership with the military alliance. It will be the fourth straight year that a sitting Japanese prime minister has participated in a NATO summit. Japan is not a NATO member but is one of the alliance's Indo-Pacific partners. Ishiba also plans to hold bilateral talks with leaders of NATO members and those of its partners while in the Hague for the summit, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said. U.S. President Donald Trump is among the expected attendees at the two-day summit from Tuesday. "Given the severe security environment we face, and based on the shared view that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and that of the Indo-Pacific are inseparable, Japan, along with other partners from the region, will discuss how we can cooperate with NATO in concrete terms," Hayashi said. At a meeting in Tokyo in April, Ishiba and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte underlined the need to strengthen the Japan-NATO partnership amid security threats from Russia and China and agreed to push for defense industry cooperation. © KYODO
The Mainichi
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Japan PM to visit Netherlands from Tuesday for NATO summit
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will be in the Netherlands for three days from Tuesday to attend a NATO summit, the government said Friday, as Japan aims to deepen its partnership with the military alliance. It will be the fourth straight year that a sitting Japanese prime minister has participated in a NATO summit. Japan is not a NATO member but is one of the alliance's Indo-Pacific partners. Ishiba also plans to hold bilateral talks with leaders of NATO members and those of its partners while in the Hague for the summit, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said. U.S. President Donald Trump is among the expected attendees at the two-day summit from Tuesday. "Given the severe security environment we face, and based on the shared view that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and that of the Indo-Pacific are inseparable, Japan, along with other partners from the region, will discuss how we can cooperate with NATO in concrete terms," Hayashi said. At a meeting in Tokyo in April, Ishiba and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte underlined the need to strengthen the Japan-NATO partnership amid security threats from Russia and China and agreed to push for defense industry cooperation.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan, NATO pledge increased defense cooperation to counter Russia, China
April 9 (UPI) -- Japan and NATO decided Wednesday to jointly increase defense cooperation to counter threats from Russia and China. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made a joint appearance to underscore the deepening partnership. "Strengthening defense industrial cooperation is a shared priority. We will accelerate cooperation in this area, including with a view to developing dual-use technologies, advanced technologies, and enhancing standardization," NATO and Japan said in a joint statement. Those technologies are likely to include drones, artificial intelligence and quantum technology. Japan also expressed interest in becoming part of a NATO command coordinating the procurement of military equipment and training for Ukraine. "Prime Minister Ishiba stated that as the international security environment has become increasingly severe, it is our shared recognition that the security of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable, and the need for security cooperation among NATO and Indo-Pacific partners, including Japan, has increased even further," Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. "Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine shows that we cannot take our security for granted. China, North Korea and Russia are stepping up their military exercises and their cooperation, undermining global stability, and that means what happens in the Euro-Atlantic matters for the Indo-Pacific and vice versa. So our security, I believe, is inseparable," Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani Rutte said in prepared remarks, Rutte added "a stronger Japan-NATO cooperation is necessary in an increasingly dangerous world." According to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs both sides agreed to strengthen defense industrial cooperation in "various fields" that include cyber, maritime security, strategic communications and interoperability. They agreed to continue information sharing and cooperation. Japan and NATO also agreed to work closer together on cryptocurrency thefts that they said funds North Korea's nuclear and missile activities.
