Japan’s Top Military Officer to Attend NATO Meeting for the First Time

The highest-ranking uniformed officer in Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) departed from Japan to Brussels on Monday (May 16th) to attend this week’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meeting. The meeting will address issues related to security and defense cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to a report citing the Ministry of Defense of Japan, Koji Yamazaki, chief of staff of the Joint Staff of the JSDF, is expected to attend the NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defense Session on Thursday, making him the first Japan’s top military officer to attend such a meeting. Representatives from non-NATO members Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea will also participate.On May 11th, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said during a seminar at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank, that Communist China’s rapid military expansion and modernization pose challenges to the global security environment. “China is not an adversary to NATO,” Geoană said, “but its military modernization, its heavy investment in nuclear missiles and hypersonic missiles, and its coercive diplomacy has (have) security implications for all NATO Allies.” Geoană mentioned that “like-minded democracies around the world,” especially “those in the Asia-Pacific region,” will need to work together to address the security implications of Communist China and its strategic partner Russia. To that end, Geoană said that Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea, “the four highly-valued partners of NATO,” will play a valuable role in helping NATO maintain peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific region.