Japan says it wants to join NATO command to support Ukraine

(Patria) - Japan has expressed interest in participating in NATO command for its Ukraine mission based in Germany, which would represent a major boost in relations with this alliance, AP reported.

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced his country's interest yesterday during talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Tokyo. After providing Kyiv with defense equipment and support, Japan now wants to join NATO's Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), based at the US base in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Details of the mission, including the possibility of sending Japanese military personnel to Wiesbaden, are yet to be discussed. Any cooperation with Japan was not expected to involve combat, in line with Tokyo's post-World War II tradition of limiting its military's role.

Nakatani said Japan wants to further deepen security cooperation with NATO and that participation in the NSATU mission would help Tokyo learn lessons from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Both Japan and NATO face many challenges, and our security environment is becoming increasingly harsh," he said.

Japan has said that Russia's war against Ukraine highlights that security risks in Europe and Asia
are inseparable, and Tokyo has sought closer ties with NATO, while joining the United States in expanding defense ties with other nations in the Indo-Pacific.

Rutte told Nakatani that China, North Korea, and Russia are intensifying military exercises and cooperation, "undermining global security" and that what happens in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific are connected.

Japan considers China a threat in the region and has accelerated its military buildup in recent years, including preparing to acquire long-range cruise missile counter-strike capabilities.

The NATO chief also expressed concern about China's military buildup and exercises near Taiwan and called on members of the organization and friendly nations to work together to maintain free and open sea lanes in the region.

"China supports Russia's efforts. China is building its armed forces, including its navy, at a rapid pace," Rutte told reporters earlier on Tuesday after briefly boarding the Japanese advanced multi-purpose frigate Mogami docked in the Japanese port of Yokosuka.

"We cannot be naive, and we really need to work together, assess what is happening."

NATO is concerned about Chinese military exercises near Taiwan and "we are monitoring them very closely," Rutte said.

Rutte told Nakatani that he hopes to deepen ties between NATO and Japan in a range of areas from crisis response to cyber defense, maritime security, and defense industrial cooperation. NATO has been strengthening ties with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, known as IP4, in recent years, and their officials attend NATO ministerial meetings.

The United States wants NATO members to be more involved in the Indo-Pacific region, Rutte said. He welcomed the recent trip by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Japan to secure Washington's commitment to strengthening its alliance with Japan and its presence in the region. He emphasized its importance, noting that Japan is the only G7 member not in NATO.

Rutte, who is visiting Japan for the first time since becoming head of the Belgium-based military alliance in October, will meet with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba today.

Ishiba has advocated for a NATO-like security framework in Asia, although he has not provided details.