Meeting and Working Dinner between Prime Minister Kishida and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg (Summary)
January 31, 2023
[Provisional translation]
On January 31, commencing at 6:20 p.m. for approximately 25 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), during his visit to Japan. Following a joint press occasion after the meeting, a working dinner was held for about 55 minutes starting at 7:10 p.m. The overview of these meeting is as follows. In addition, a joint statement ( English (PDF/56KB
) / Japanese (PDF/97KB) ) was issued on the occasion of the meeting.1. Introduction
(1) At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida welcomed Secretary General Stoltenberg's visit to Japan, refering to their last meeting at the NATO Summit in June last year.
(2) Prime Minister Kishida stated that in the current severe security environment, it is more than ever important to work together to uphold and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law, and that he would like to further strengthen Japan-NATO cooperation.
(3) NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg expressed his pleasure to hold a face-to-face meeting in Tokyo and his intention to continue to strengthen cooperation between Japan and NATO.
2. NATO-Japan Relations
(1) Prime Minister Kishida explained an overview of Japan's National Security Strategy, and Secretary General Stoltenberg expressed his support for the adoption of the strategy.
(2) Considering the ongoing unpredictable situation in Ukraine and the situation in the Indo-Pacific, the two sides confirmed to elevate NATO-Japan cooperation to a higher level, in order to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law, including the realization of a "free and open Indo-Pacific". Specifically, both sides reaffirmed the enhancement of their cooperation in areas including cyber, as well as the importance of cooperation in areas including critical and emerging technologies, outer space, and disinformation, amidst the rapid expansion of the scope of national security domains.
(3) Prime Minister Kishida welcomed NATO's increasing interest and engagement in the Indo-Pacific and expressed his intention to establish an independent mission to NATO in light of these close ties. Also, Prime Minister Kishida expressed his intension to participate in the North Atlantic Council and the NATO Chiefs of Defense meetings on a regular basis, and confirmed that Japan and NATO would promote close communication.
3. International and Regional Situation
(1) Both sides exchanged views on the situation regarding Russia's aggression against Ukraine and concurred that Russia’s nuclear threat is absolutely unacceptable, and that Russia should never use nuclear weapons under any circumstances.
(2) Both sides also exchanged views on the situation in East Asia, expressing their opposition to unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the East and South China Seas and emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
(3) Both sides also exchanged views on the situation in North Korea. They shared the view that a strong response by the Security Council and unified efforts by the like-minded countries are important to address North Korea's nuclear and missile development and confirmed that both would work closely together in dealing with North Korea, including the abductions issue.
