3-5 Apr 2005

NATO Secretary General visits Japan News 01/04/2005 - NATO NATO Secretary General to travel to Japan Opinion 04/04/2005 - NATO Speech by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Tokyo, Japan The Secretary General of NATO, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, paid a visit to Tokyo from 3 to 5 April, to discuss with the country’s leadership security issues of common concern. The visit was carried out in the framework of the strategic dialogue between NATO and Japan. As part of the dialogue, senior officials from Japan and NATO meet on a biannual basis to discuss security topics of mutual interest. Mr. De Hoop Scheffer met with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, with Defence Minister of State for Defence Yoshinori Ohno and with the Chairman of the Joint Staff Council General Hajime Massaki. He also addressed the Japan Institute of International Affairs. “In today’s world, geographic distance has little meaning,” the Secretary General said, “Japan and the transatlantic community face very similar challenges. All of us need to come to grips with a security landscape that bears little resemblance to the past, and that requires a radical rethinking of the way we do business.”