Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, has said he will attend this month’s (June 2022) NATO summit scheduled to take place in Madrid, Spain, which will make the country’s first leader join a top meeting of the transatlantic group.

The announcement on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, came ahead of a June 28-30, 2022 gathering of the military alliance that is seen as a crunch moment for its 30 members, four months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sweden and Finland, which have applied to join NATO, are sending delegations to the summit, and South Korea’s new President, Yoon Suk-yeol will also be the first leader from his country to be present.

Japan, a key United States ally, but not a NATO member, delivered defensive supplies to Ukraine and imposed tough sanctions on Russia in tandem with the other Group of Seven (G7) countries. “As the only Asian country in the G7, Japan’s diplomatic capabilities are being tested,” Kishida told reporters in a media interview.

His attendance at the NATO summit will be “the first time for a Japanese Prime Minister”, he said, adding that he intends to highlight the link between security concerns in Europe and Asia. Kishida already pledged significant strengthening of Japan’s military capability and budget.

He said protecting lives and turning around the economy were his key promises since he took office, and that “I will fulfil my responsibility as prime minister by keeping the promises.” In recent weeks, Kishida hosted a summit of the Quad grouping of nations and has made trips to countries including Singapore, where he gave a keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue Security Summit on Friday, June 10, 2022. “I myself have a strong sense of urgency that Ukraine today, may be East Asia tomorrow,” he warned.

More details on this development will soon be updated…