THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
June 6, 2022 at 18:17 JST
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, arrives at the headquarters of NATO in Brussels on March 24. (Pool photo)
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida would be the first Japanese leader to attend a NATO summit under final arrangements being made for the meetings at the end of this month in Spain, according to government sources.
He would be the first to participate in the gathering of leaders from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since Japan is not a NATO member.
The summit will be held on June 29 and 30 in Madrid. The leaders are expected to discuss how to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Toshimitsu Motegi, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, also mentioned Kishida’s attendance on June 5 in a campaign speech in Matsuyama.
Motegi said, “Prime Minister Kishida will go to Germany for the G-7 summit late this month. Perhaps after that, he will attend the NATO summit as the first Japanese prime minister to do so.”
Newly elected South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol also plans to participate in the summit. There is a possibility that he will meet with Kishida in person for the first time there.
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