NATO and Japan work together bilaterally on a range of common security challenges such as cyber defence, new technologies or maritime security, as well as within NATO’s broader relations with its partners in the Indo-Pacific region. In today’s complex global security environment, Japan and NATO are committed to strengthening political dialogue and practical cooperation to maintain and strengthen the rules-based international order.
- NATO and Japan have maintained dialogue and cooperation since their first contacts in the early 1990s.
- NATO and Japan signaled their commitment to strengthening cooperation in a joint political declaration signed in April 2013. From 2014, work progressed under an individual NATO-Japan Partnership and Cooperation Program. Currently, cooperation is guided by a personalized partnership program that NATO and Japan agreed in July 2023.
- Practical cooperation is developing in a wide range of areas, including cyber defense, maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, non-proliferation, science and technology, human security and women, peace and security.
- Japan is one of NATO’s partners in the Indo-Pacific region, alongside Australia, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand. The Indo-Pacific region is important to the Alliance, as developments in this region can directly affect Euro-Atlantic security.
Key areas of cooperation
Japan’s cooperation with NATO is mutually beneficial and covers many common security challenges, including:
- Cyberdefense: Japan participated in NATO operations cyber defense exercises the Cyber Coalition and Locked Shields. The country also became a contributing participant to NATO Cooperative Center of Excellence in Cyber Defense in Tallinn, Estonia.
- Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief: As part of a NATO-coordinated airlift to provide relief following the devastating 2023 earthquakes in Turkey, Japan sent hundreds of tents and other goods to Turkey. This was the first international emergency relief operation carried out by the Japan Self-Defense Forces in cooperation with the Alliance.
- New technologies: NATO and Japan strengthen their cooperation in the field of emerging and disruptive technologies thanks to Japan’s participation in the activities of NATO’s Science and Technology Organization (STO). Japan is also involved in the Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Program, particularly in activities in the areas of counter-terrorism and the detection and clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance. Ongoing research and multi-year projects with Japan aim, for example, to advance procedures and technologies to safely detect landmines. Building on the results of previous cooperation, Japanese scientists are studying a semiconductor-based detection device that would facilitate the identification of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) explosive materials or special nuclear materials in ports and border crossings.
- Maritime safety: Japan has a long-standing cooperation with the Alliance in the field maritime safety. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force trained with NATO ships in the Mediterranean in 2022 and the Baltic Sea in 2018. Japan has designated a liaison officer to NATO Maritime Command.
- Interoperability: Since 2014, under the Partnership Interoperability InitiativeJapan participates in the Interoperability Platform, which brings together Allies and selected partners who actively contribute to NATO operations.
- Trust funds: Japan has made generous contributions to NATO Trust Fund projects in various partner countries. More recently, Japan has provided significant support to Ukraine, including contributing to NATO support. Comprehensive Assistance Program for Ukraine. Japan’s previous significant contributions were aimed at improving stockpile management and physical security of munitions in the country. Afghanistan And Tajikistan; destroy dangerous stocks of pesticides in the Republic of Moldova; and clear an ammunition depot at Georgiaas well as contaminated land in Azerbaijan.
Political dialogue
- At the 2021 NATO Summit in Brussels, Allies agreed to intensify dialogue and practical cooperation between NATO and existing partners, including Japan, one of the partner countries. partners in the Indo-Pacific region. This commitment was reiterated in the NATO Strategic Concept 2022, the main policy document of the Alliance. Cooperation with partners in this region is essential to confront an increasingly complex global security environment, including Russia’s war against Ukraine, the changing global balance of power and the rise of China, as well as the security situation on the Korean peninsula.
- In June 2022, the Japanese Prime Minister participated in the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, alongside leaders of other partners in the Indo-Pacific region (Australia, Republic of Korea and New Zealand). This was Japan’s first ever participation in a NATO summit. In July 2023, the country participated in its second meeting at the level of heads of state and government, during the Vilnius Summit 2023.
- In April 2022 and April 2023, Japan participated in the NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meetings. This followed Japan’s first-ever participation in a NATO ministerial meeting, in December 2020.
- Japan also regularly participates in meetings held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels between Allies and the four partners in the Indo-Pacific region at the ambassadorial level. Recent meetings have focused on climate change and security, arms control and maritime security.
Support for NATO-led operations and missions
- Japan supported the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and for broader reconstruction and development efforts in Afghanistan. She helped mobilize international support for Afghanistan by organizing the Tokyo Conference in July 2012 and pledging USD 5 billion for this purpose over a five-year period (2009-2013). Previously, Japan had supported efforts to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate former combatants, as well as reintegrate insurgents under the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Program. It has also supported various initiatives, including human security projects at the local level in several regions of Afghanistan, and contributed to the Afghan National Army Trust Fund.
- In the 1990s, Japan played a role in stabilizing the Balkans, where NATO has conducted several peace support operations since the mid-1990s. As a major donor country, it contributed to the successful recovery of the Balkan region and its reintegration into the European mainstream.