Japan won’t join NATO, but local office considered, says PM Fumio Kishida

Kishida's comments came after the Japanese envoy to US earlier this month said that the US-led military pact was planning a Tokyo office, the first in Asia, to facilitate consultations in the region.

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a bilateral meeting | File photo: Reuters/Androniki Christodoulou/Pool

Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday said the country had no plans to become a NATO member but acknowledged the security alliance’s plan to open a liaison office in Japan.

Kishida’s comments came after the Japanese ambassador to the United States earlier this month said that the U.S.-led military pact was planning a Tokyo office, the first in Asia, to facilitate consultations in the region.

“I am not aware of any decision made” at NATO regarding the establishment of the office, Kishida told a Wednesday parliament session, adding his country was not planning to join NATO as a member or semi-member state.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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