(Press Release: Provisional Translation)
April 8, 2025
Ministry of Defense Japan
On April 8, 2025, commencing at 18:55 for approximately 50 minutes, Defense Minister NAKATANI held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Mark RUTTE, Secretary General of NATO.
- At the outset, Defense Minister Nakatani welcomed Secretary General Rutte's visit, and Secretary General Rutte expressed his appreciation to Minister Nakatani for hosting the meeting. Considering that this was Secretary General Rutte’s first visit to Indo-Pacific region as the Secretary General of NATO, Minister Nakatani stated that he is encouraged by the high interest and continued involvement by Secretary General Rutte and NATO in the region and Japan.
- Minister Nakatani stated that Ministry of Defense has an intention to coordinate to participate in the "NATO Ukraine Security Assistance and Training Organization (NSATU)," and Secretary General Rutte welcomed this offer. They confirmed the importance of continuing support for Ukraine.
- Both sides confirmed that the security of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is becoming increasingly interlinked, and exchanged views on the recent security environment in their respective regions. In addition, Minister Nakatani explained Japan's defense policies, etc.
- The two sides confirmed that they will continue to cooperate to strengthen the relationship of human resources, including the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces personnel to NATO Headquarters, which has been ongoing since 2014, and shared the view to continue to promote practical security and defense cooperation in various areas, including improving interoperability, based on the Japan-NATO cooperation document: Individually Tailored Partnership Plan (ITPP) and the Flagship Projects between IP4 (Indo-Pacific partners: Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea) and NATO.
- Both sides confirmed that they will continue their cooperation, including support for Ukraine, given the expanding strategic significance of cooperation between Japan and NATO.
