Japan has opened a dedicated diplomatic mission to NATO, one of many steps the country has taken to strengthen collaboration with Partners amid rising tensions from North Korea, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia.
The mission opened its doors in January 2025 as a separate office from Japan’s Embassy in Brussels, which previously covered NATO-related activities. The new entity has a dedicated Japanese ambassador to NATO, Osamu Izawa, former ambassador to Senegal, Cabo Verde and Gambia.
Japan has increased collaboration with NATO members and other Partners, working to counter increased threats in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. In a January 2025 telephone call, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte discussed ways to increase collaboration bilaterally and with Indo-Pacific Partners Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.
Japan is NATO’s longest-standing out-of-theater Partner, with informal communications first taking place in the late 1970s, according to a paper from the Japan Institute of International Affairs. More formal discussions began in the 1990s, and Japan conducted its first joint military exercise with NATO in 2014. Japan established its initial NATO mission at its Brussels embassy in 2018.
In 2022, Japan’s prime minister participated in the NATO summit in Madrid, along with other Indo-Pacific leaders. Kanji Yamanouchi, Japan’s ambassador to Canada, said the growing Japan-NATO relationship reflects evolving global dynamics.
Europe and the Atlantic Ocean may seem far away from the Indo-Pacific region, “but in reality this Euro-Atlantic situation and the Asia-Pacific situation is inseparable, it’s closely connected, especially when [you] see the reality of the Ukraine [war],” Yamanouchi said during an online panel discussion with the NATO Association of Canada. “When we saw that North Korean soldiers were dispatched to the front of the Ukraine war, this made things more complicated. [Former] Prime Minister [Fumio] Kishida once said, ‘Today’s Ukraine might be tomorrow’s Asia,’ so people are just realizing that is a reality of the 21st century.”
Yamanouchi noted additional ways Japan has worked with NATO. Japan is one of the Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) nations — along with Australia, New Zealand and South Korea — providing aid to Ukraine, developing cyber defense, fighting disinformation and misinformation and developing security technology.
Japan and NATO signed an agreement through the Alliance’s Individually Tailored Partnership Program (ITPP) in 2023, establishing a bilateral partnership that increased Japan’s participation in NATO exercises and training and facilitated greater sharing of data and intelligence.
The Japanese cabinet approved a record $55 billion defense budget for 2025 as part of a five-year buildup under its 2022 national security strategy. By 2027, the country’s defense spending will be 2% of gross domestic product, NATO’s guideline for member countries, Yamanouchi said.
Japan is also planning to deploy U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles in 2025 to counter threats from North Korea, the PRC and Russia as part of a “standoff defense system” that includes long-range missiles, satellite networks and unmanned systems, according to The Associated Press.
In an October 2024 meeting with NATO and Indo-Pacific defense ministers, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani called on Allies and Partners to expand coordinated efforts to counter security threats.
“It is … important to deepen cooperation with like-minded countries that share basic values and strategic interests, and to further promote cooperation between Japan and NATO as well as NATO and the IP4,” Nakatani said, according to The Japan News.
“The war in Ukraine has shown that instability in Europe can have far reaching consequences across the world, and that countries thousands of miles away — as far away as Iran, China and even North Korea — can become security spoilers in our own backyard,” Rutte said, according to Kyodo News. “Our world is closely linked and so is our security.”