French President Emmanuel Macron has informed NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg of his opposition to the alliance's plan to open an office in Tokyo, an official at the president's office said.
Noting that NATO is a military alliance concerning the security of the North Atlantic region, the official said that the French side does not support the idea of the bloc opening an office outside of the region.
The official also indicated that the Japanese side is not sticking to the Tokyo office idea of NATO.
Established in 1949, NATO has been expanding its operations to areas outside of Europe, such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, since the end of the Cold War.
"We support enhanced cooperation with our ally and NATO partner, Japan," a U.S. Department of State official told Jiji Press last month, sounding positive about the organization setting up an office in the Japanese capital.
Japan, for its part, has been working to strengthen its relations with NATO, such as launching a government mission for NATO in Brussels in 2018.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is slated to attend a two-day NATO summit to be held in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius from Tuesday, along with leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden and Macron.