Japan PM plans to attend Nato summit in first for country’s leader

Fumio Kishida’s attendance at the event would make him the first Japanese leader to take part in a gathering of the Western alliance

Australia, New Zealand and South Korea have also been invited to attend next month’s Nato summit in Madrid, amid Russia’s war in Ukraine

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech at the start of a charity concert in aid of Ukraine held in Tokyo earlier this month. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 3:03pm, 4 Jun 2022

Japanese 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 on Saturday.

Kishida’s attendance at the June 29-30 event in Madrid is dependent on domestic politics leading up to an election for the upper house of Japan’s parliament likely to be held on July 10, the source said.

It is hoped that 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.

A residential building is seen through the wind shield of a destroyed car in the town of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, on Friday. Photo: AFP

Kishida plans to travel to the Spanish capital after attending a three-day summit of the Group of Seven industrialised 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, observers say.