North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

April 1, 2026
Japanese

On April 1, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs FUNAKOSHI Takehiro exchanged views with H.E. Mr. Geoffrey VAN LEEUWEN, Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary General to NATO, who is visiting Japan. The overview is as follows.

  1. Vice Minister Funakoshi welcomed Mr. Van Leeuwen’s visit to Japan. Based on the recognition that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is closely linked, he emphasized that the importance of strategic cooperation between Japan and NATO, as well as between NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners (IP4: Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea) is growing. He expressed his desire to build up concrete cooperation.
  2. In response, Mr. Van Leeuwen shared this view and stated his desire to further develop good Japan-NATO and NATO-IP4 relations in the future.
  3. The two sides engaged in a frank exchange of views on regional issues, including Russia’s aggression against Ukraine; challenges in the Indo-Pacific such as those related to China; policies toward North Korea - covering nuclear and missile issues, military cooperation between Russia and North Korea and the abductions issue; developments in the Middle East, including the situation in Iran. They confirmed their commitment to continue working closely together to address various challenges facing the international community.
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