NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte travelled to Japan for a two-day trip last week, meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and agreeing to deepen co-operation in the fields of maritime security, cyber, strategic communications, and interoperability.
“Japan is one of NATO’s most valued partners,” said Rutte, who replaced Jens Stoltenberg as secretary general in October 2024. Japan is part of NATO’s so-called ‘Asia-Pacific Four’ (AP4), alongside Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.
Rutte applauded Japan’s plan to invest two per cent of its GDP into defence by 2027 and underlined China’s “major military build-up [and] destabilizing activities in the Indo-Pacific.” NATO has previously labelled China “a decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Before he became prime minister, Ishiba wrote in September 2024 that “the creation of an Asian version of NATO is essential to deter China.” His ambitious proposal has fizzled for now, but further defence-industrial co-operation between Japan and NATO members (including Canada) is likely.
