Japan has no plans to join NATO, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told parliament today. However, he confirmed that NATO intends to open a liaison office in Japan. His government has not yet made a decision on the matter.
Earlier this month, Japan’s ambassador to the United States said the Western military pact wants to open an office in Tokyo to facilitate consultations in the region. Such an institution would be the first in Asia for NATO.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has thirty member countries in Europe and North America. Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol last year became the first leaders of their country to attend a NATO summit as observers.
‘Threat’
Russia sees any expansion of the Western alliance as a threat, and China has also criticized NATO’s efforts to expand its alliances in Asia, Bloomberg reports. “The Asia-Pacific region does not want to hear about NATO’s plan to open an office in Japan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a news conference today. ‘Group and military confrontation is not well received here.’ Mao also warned Japan to be “extremely careful” in military security, given Japan’s “history of aggression”.
Source: BNR
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