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Kishida eyes attending NATO summit in late June, 1st time for Japan

04 June 2022 09:14 (UTC +04:00)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning to attend a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization slated for late June in Spain, a move that would make him the first Japanese leader to take part in a gathering of the Western alliance, a government source said Saturday, APA reports citing Kyodo News.

Kishida's attendance at the June 29-30 event in Madrid is dependent on the domestic political situation leading up to a House of Councillors election likely to be held July 10, the source said.

Government officials hope Kishida's participation in the NATO summit would strengthen coordination with the United States and European countries in responding to Russia's war in Ukraine and possible contingencies over the Taiwan Strait.

Kishida plans to travel to the Spanish capital after attending a three-day summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations from June 26 in Germany, according to the source.

Australia, New Zealand and South Korea have also been invited to attend the NATO summit as partner countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Attendance by Japan and the other non-NATO countries would give out a strong message of solidarity to the international community over the Ukraine crisis.

There are, however, mixed views in the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over Kishida's participation as the NATO summit's schedule clashes with the expected kickoff on June 22 of official campaigning for the Japanese upper house election.

Some government officials think the premier's summit diplomacy with Western and Indo-Pacific leaders helps boost public support for his ruling coalition.

But some LDP lawmakers suggest Kishida, whose support rates are already relatively high, should focus on campaigning in as many electoral districts as possible before the election.

As of May 22, the Kishida Cabinet's approval rating stood at 61.5 percent, the highest level since he took office in October last year, according to a Kyodo News survey.

Kishida has strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, seeing it as the use of force to change the status quo in violation of international law.

Japan has coordinated with other G-7 members -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United States plus the European Union -- in imposing sanctions on Russia to compel it to cease its aggression.

Kishida has also called for preventing a similar crisis from occurring in the Indo-Pacific, where China's assertive moves have heightened regional tensions.

In April, Japan's Yoshimasa Hayashi joined a foreign ministerial meeting of NATO member states and partner countries in Belgium, making him the first Japanese foreign minister to attend a NATO session.