On Tuesday, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he will make a four-day trip from July 11 to Lithuania to participate in a NATO summit and Belgium for talks with European Union leaders.
He told executive members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party that he also plans to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar later in the month, aiming to deepen economic and security ties with Middle Eastern countries.
Kishida, who becomes the first Japanese leader to attend a NATO summit in Spain in 2022, will join this year's meeting of the transatlantic alliance, which is considering opening a liaison office in Tokyo in a bid to respond to security threats in Asia.
The prime minister has expressed his willingness to step up "resource diplomacy" during his four-day tour of the Middle East starting July 16, as Japan relies heavily on imports of fossil fuels such as crude oil.
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