Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, have confirmed the strengthening of security cooperation between Japan and NATO, in a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office.
Kishida and Stoltenberg also agreed during their Tuesday meeting that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions are inseparable, with an eye on Russia's aggression against Ukraine and China's military buildup in the Pacific.
Stoltenberg, who is visiting Japan for the first time since October 2017, aims to strengthen ties with the prime minister ahead of his chairing the the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.
In a joint announcement after their talks, Kishida said, "We will take NATO-Japan cooperation to a higher level in order to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order." Stoltenberg responded, "We must remain united and firm. Standing together for freedom and democracy."
Their joint statement released after the meeting clearly stated that "unilateral change of the status quo by force or coercion is not acceptable anywhere in the world," and warned that "any use of nuclear weapons by Russia would meet with unequivocal international condemnation and severe consequences." It also stressed concern about military coordination between Russia and China.
Japan and NATO agreed to oppose attempts to change the status quo and intimidation in the East and South China Seas, with China's continued aggressive maritime expansion in mind. The statement noted, "We emphasize the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."
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