Japan intends to upgrade its partnership with NATO significantly after Russia's war against Ukraine because the security of Europe is inseparable from that of Asia, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday, hailing the Western alliance's engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.
Kishida is the first Japanese leader to attend a NATO summit, highlighting the expanding reach of an alliance that faces challenges posed by Russia and China.
The two-day summit through Thursday in Madrid will see NATO members commit to bolstering defenses in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It adopted a new Strategic Concept — the alliance's guiding document for the next decade — that mentioned China for the first time.