NATO plans to open a communications office in Japan next year to strengthen cooperation with its allies in the Asia-Pacific region. The office would allow regular consultations with regional “key partners” such as Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea. According to Nikkei Asia, the idea of opening an office was first discussed during NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s visit to Tokyo in January, during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Plans to open the office have been confirmed by NATO and Japanese officials, although it has not yet been decided who will fund the office, whether it will be NATO or the Japanese government. If Japan funds the opening of a NATO office in Tokyo, it will symbolize a new phase in the country’s military cooperation.
The Atlantic Alliance already has stations with similar functions at UN facilities in New York, at the headquarters of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna, as well as in Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kuwait.
In addition to cooperation in the field of cybersecurity, Japan also seeks to coordinate positions on new technologies and exchange information on combating disinformation. To achieve this, the parties plan to sign the Individualized Partnership Program (ITPP) before the NATO Summit in Lithuania in July.