NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

NATO has its longest-standing Asian relationship with Japan. A strategic dialogue is ongoing since the early nineties: it involves high level discussions held alternatively in Japan or at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

Both sides benefit from a regular, informal exchange of views. The more structured contacts were initiated at the first NATO-Japan exchange in 1990, on the Belgian coast. Biannual meetings have taken place since then. NATO’s Secretary General visited Tokyo in April 2005 and again in December 2007. The then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also adressed the North Atlantic Council in January 2007.

Political dialogue is gradually being complemented by practical cooperation. Japan’s support for peace and security-orientated operations in Afghanistan are valued by the Allies. The Japanese government has also committed several million Yen (over 3,800,000 million US dollars) in support of basic human needs projects in various regions of Afghanistan. The selection of projects is facilitated by NATO, with the identification of projects through the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). Japan recently appointed some liaison officers to a number of PRTs to support this programme. The country donated three million euros to the NATO Trust Fund Ammunition Stockpile.

In the 1990s, Japan also played a welcome role in stabilizing the Balkans, where NATO has led several peace-support operations since the mid-1990s. Japan’s contribution as a major donor nation has played an important part in the successful recovery of the Balkans region, as well as its reintegration into the European mainstream.

Practical cooperation focuses on various areas of common interest, including civil emergency planning, terrorism, non-proliferation and crisis management as well as participation in military activities. Since 2007, as is the case with other partners across the globe, NATO and Japan have established an annual work programme or Individual Tailored Cooperation Package (TCP) of activities which provides the basis for practical cooperation.