Stoltenberg welcomes Japan's plan to open diplomatic mission to NATO

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday welcomed Japan’s decision to open a "dedicated diplomatic mission" to the military alliance.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Stoltenberg said that no other partner is "closer and more capable" than Japan.

"We welcome very much that you have decided to open a dedicated diplomatic mission to NATO," said Stoltenberg, praising the partnership between NATO and Japan.

Noting that in a more dangerous and unpredictable world, security is not regional but global, the secretary general stressed that “what happens in Europe matters for Asia, for the Indo Pacific, and what happens in Asia and the Indo Pacific matters for Europe.”

"Therefore the war in Ukraine also matters for you, because we should make sure that authoritarian leaders do not draw the lesson that when they use military force, when they violate international law – as (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin does in Ukraine – that they can get what they want."

Stoltenberg added that NATO is stepping up its cooperation with partners in the Indo Pacific - Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia.

Yoshimasa meanwhile expressed his pleasure to meet Stoltenberg in Brussels.

Reiterating his country's "strict position" against changing the status quo by force, he said that what Russia is doing in Ukraine is "unacceptable."

"The use of nuclear weapons will never, never be acceptable to Japan," Yoshimasa added, noting that Japan is the only country to have suffered from atomic bombings in wartime.