NATO to set up liaison office in Tokyo, strengthen links in region – Nikkei

NATO to set up liaison office in Tokyo, strengthen links in region – Nikkei

TOKYO (Reuters) – NATO will set up a liaison office in Tokyo in 2024 and use it as a hub for cooperation with South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the Nikkei reported on Tuesday.

The Japanese ambassador to the United States said in May that the U.S.-led military alliance was planning a Tokyo office, the first in Asia, to facilitate consultations in the region – a plan that French President Emmanuel Macron objected to.

The report added that NATO will deepen collaboration with its four major partners in the Pacific, preparing bilateral cooperation documents with each, which will be used as a base for collaboration on issues such as cybersecurity and space.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said last month his nation has no plans to join NATO as a member or semi-member state, and there were media reports at the time that Kishida was arranging to attend a NATO summit in Lithuania in July.

South Korea’s presidential office said they had no comment when asked about the report.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Kirsten Donovan)