Japan, NATO mulling 'independent' talks on defense, tech

NATO and Japan are mulling their first "independent" talks on defense and technology, the Japanese ambassador to the bloc told the Japan Times.

The talks at NATO headquarters in Brussels will focus on boosting cooperation and coordination between Japanese and European defense industries, particularly "on sharing information about future technology and equipment," said Osamu Izawa, Tokyo's first ambassador to the military alliance.

"We are now going to set up an independent, bilateral dialogue to discuss these issues, which is a very important step from our point of view," said Izawa, adding that European members of NATO were particularly interested in Japan's advanced "dual-use technologies," including those in emerging and strategic sectors.

"Through this dialogue, and our other activities in NATO, we are then going to provide non-classified information to Japanese companies so that they determine if and how they can work together with their NATO counterparts," he said.

The initiative comes after NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte's visit in April to the Kanagawa Prefecture for Mitsubishi Electric's satellite production facility.

Japan is one of NATO's partners in the wider Asia-Pacific region. Since 2022, Japan has regularly attended NATO foreign ministers' meetings.

There had been rumors that NATO was working to open its first Asia office in Tokyo. But that has not yet developed.