According to the Japanese media “Kyodo News” on Saturday (June 4), citing an anonymous government official source, the NATO summit will be held in Madrid, the capital of Spain on the 29th and 30th, and Japan and NATO’s Asia-Pacific allies such as Australia, New Zealand and South Korea have been invited. attend. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is expected to be a key topic at the summit, which is also likely to discuss the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden. Fumio Kishida is currently inclined to attend the NATO summit at the end of June, hoping to promote cooperation with NATO leaders on Ukraine issues.
The government official said that Kishida will participate in the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Elmau, Bavaria, Germany, on the 26th and 28th, and is expected to transfer to Spain after the meeting. He will put forward the view that Japan will continue to work with G7 and NATO members to deal with the situation of sanctions against Moscow and aid Ukraine and other Ukraine-Russia situations, and explain to these countries that, in view of the movements of the CCP and North Korea, it will not recognize the unilateral change of the status quo by force in any region. A policy of fundamentally strengthening Japan’s defense capabilities, including increasing the defense budget.
The official also emphasized that all NATO countries should be happy to see Kishida attending the summit, and the Japanese government also hopes that through Kishida’s attendance at the NATO summit, it will strengthen the consultation with the United States and its European countries on how to respond to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and possible emergencies in the Taiwan Strait. Close consultation and coordination.
In response, a Japanese government spokesman said it was unable to make any comment on the Kyodo News report until next Monday (June 6). But according to interviewed officials, Kishida may assess the political situation ahead of the Senate election at the end of July before making a decision on the matter.
Reuters analysis pointed out that although Kishida has publicly condemned the war crimes committed by Russia for invading Ukraine many times before, if the NATO summit trip comes true, it will also become a rare radical stance of the Japanese government on Russia. Because of the decades-old dispute over the sovereignty of the northern islands between Japan and Russia, Japan has always been cautious in its relations with Russia in the past. But this time, the Japanese government’s attack on Russia is full of fire. Kishida not only condemned Russia for “war crimes” in Ukraine, but also coordinated with the G7 and the European Union to impose tough sanctions on Russia.
Fumio Kishida emphasized that he will continue to cooperate with the international community to deal with the situation in Ukraine, and will not allow any region to unilaterally use force to change the status quo.
At the meeting of the Senate Budget Committee held on the 3rd, Fumio Kishida said that it is necessary to continue to impose strong sanctions on Russia, and to deal with the soaring prices caused by the situation in Ukraine, the relevant measures proposed by the Japanese government have also achieved results.
On the 5th, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was visiting the United Kingdom, said at a press conference in London that Japan continues to pay attention to the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, and that the use of force to change the status quo is absolutely unacceptable in the Indo-Pacific, especially in East Asia.
He also said that there is a sense of crisis such as “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow”, so he changed Japan’s Russia policy and took firm measures such as sanctions against Russia in coordination with the G7. It is important for him to let everyone know that Russia’s atrocities have come at a high price and not to send the wrong message to the international community.
According to reports, the attendance of some non-NATO countries, including Japan, at the NATO summit can highlight the international community’s solidarity on the Ukraine crisis, but the Japanese government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have different views on whether Kishida should attend the NATO summit. The main reason is that although the Japanese Senate election will be held on July 10, the election campaign was fully launched on June 22, and the pre-election campaign was in conflict with the date of the NATO summit.
Some Japanese government officials believe that Kishida’s trip abroad to attend the G7 and NATO summits can boost Japan’s international visibility and reputation, thereby stimulating voter support for the ruling coalition. However, there are also Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers who believe that Kishida, who has relatively high public support, should stay in the country and go to as many constituencies as possible to canvass for the Liberal Democratic Party senators before the Senate election.
According to a survey conducted by Kyodo News, as of May 22, the public opinion support rate of the Kishida cabinet was as high as 61.5%; while the Japanese “Keizai Shimbun” poll from May 27-29, the support rate of the Kishida cabinet reached 66%, It was also the highest level of public opinion he has received since he became prime minister in October last year.