First Time for Japan, PM to Attend NATO Summit in June

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to attend a NATO summit slated for late June in Spain, a government source reported on Saturday.

The summit, which is slated for 29-30 June, is dependent on the domestic political situation leading up to an Upper House election likely to be held July 10, according to the source.

Officials hope that Kishida's participation in the NATO summit will boost coordination with the US and European countries in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and possible contingencies over the Taiwan Strait.

Kishida plans to travel to Madrid after attending a three-day summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations (G7) on June 26 in Germany, the source added.

Besides Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea will also attend the NATO summit.

In May, U.S. President Joe Biden headed to Japan for the second leg of a trip across Asia to reinforce the American leadership in the face of a rising China and dangerously unpredictable, nuclear-armed North Korea.

During the meeting with Biden, Kishida said: "We are currently faced with a crisis that shakes the foundation of international order, which is Russia’s aggression against Ukraine."

"To defend a resolutely free and open international order based on the rule of law, unity amongst allies and like-minded countries are required utmost now than any other," he added.

On his part, Biden affirmed that the US will support Japan becoming a permanent member of a reformed Security Council. “The Pacific Ocean does not separate Japan and the United States. Rather, it unites us.”

"Japan will hold the presidency of the G7 next year," the American leader noted. "At next year’s G7 Summit I hope we can demonstrate the will of the G7 to resolutely reject aggression by force, threat by nuclear weapons, and attempts to overturn the international order with a strength that will make a mark in history."