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Relations with Japan

Updated: 09 July 2025

NATO and Japan work together bilaterally on a range of global security challenges such as cyber defence, technology and innovation, and maritime security, as well as through NATO’s broader relations with its partners in the Indo-Pacific region. In today’s complex global security environment where security in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is increasingly linked, Japan and NATO are committed to enhancing political dialogue and practical cooperation in order to uphold and strengthen the rules-based international order.

Japan is one of NATO’s partners in the Indo-Pacific region, together with Australia, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand. The Indo-Pacific is important for the Alliance, given that developments in that region directly affect Euro-Atlantic security.
NATO and Japan have been engaged in dialogue and cooperation since initial contacts in the early 1990s.
NATO and Japan signalled their commitment to strengthening cooperation in a joint political declaration signed in April 2013. From 2014, work was taken forward through a NATO-Japan Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme. Currently, the cooperation is guided by an Individually Tailored Partnership Programme, which was jointly agreed in July 2023.
In January 2025, Japan established a Diplomatic Mission to NATO, further enhancing opportunities for political dialogue with the Alliance.
Practical cooperation between NATO and Japan is being developed in a wide range of areas, including cyber defence, maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, non-proliferation, science and technology, human security, and Women, Peace and Security.
Since the very beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Japan has been steadfast in supporting Ukraine’s right to self-defence. This has included contributions to NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine as well as bilateral support.

Political dialogue

At the 2021 NATO Summit in Brussels, Allies agreed to increase dialogue and practical cooperation between NATO and existing partners, including Japan as one of the partners in the Indo-Pacific region. This commitment was reiterated in the NATO 2022 Strategic Concept, the Alliance’s core policy document.
NATO works with its partners in the Indo-Pacific region against the backdrop of an increasingly complex global security environment, including Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the provision of troops and weapons by North Korea in support of that war, and the deepening strategic partnership between China and Russia.
In June 2022, the Prime Minister of Japan participated in the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, together with the Leaders of other partners from the Indo-Pacific (Australia, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand). In July 2023, the country participated in its second meeting at the level of Heads of State and Government, at the 2023 Vilnius Summit. In July 2024, Japan, together with other partners in the Indo-Pacific, participated in the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., where practical cooperation between Allies and these partners was further enhanced, including through the launch of new flagship projects in the areas of support to Ukraine on military healthcare as well as cyber defence, countering disinformation, and technology such as artificial intelligence.
Since 2022, Japan has regularly attended NATO Foreign Ministers’ meetings. This followed the country’s first-ever participation in a NATO ministerial meeting in December 2020. Japan participated for the first time in a NATO Defence Ministers’ meeting in October 2024.

Japan also participates in meetings held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels between NATO Allies and the four partners in the Indo-Pacific at the level of Ambassadors. Recent meetings have focused on cyber defence, technology and hybrid challenges.

Key areas of cooperation

Japan’s cooperation with NATO is mutually beneficial and covers many common security challenges, including:

Cyber defence: Japan has participated in NATO’s cyber defence exercises Cyber Coalition and Locked Shields. The country is a contributing participant at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia.
Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief: As part of a NATO-coordinated air-bridge to provide relief following the devastating 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye, Japan flew hundreds of tents and other cargo to Türkiye. This was the first international emergency relief operation conducted by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in cooperation with the Alliance.
New technologies: Since 2020, Japan has participated in NATO’s Science & Technology Organization (STO) Science & Technology (S&T) Enhanced Partnership, a programme designed to promote joint research and development in advanced S&T fields. Alongside other NATO partners Australia, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland and Ukraine, Japan sits on the NATO Science and Technology Board, which provides strategic guidance on NATO’s collaborative scientific research and engages in joint research and development projects in areas such as medicine, sensing, cyber security, and propulsion and power systems.
The Japanese scientific and academic community is also engaged in the framework of the Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme, particularly in activities in the fields of advanced technologies, counter-terrorism, human aspects of security, and the detection and clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance. Ongoing activities with Japan are focused on emerging and disruptive technologies, the impact of biotechnology on defence and security, and energy security.
Maritime security: Japan has had a longstanding cooperation with the Alliance on maritime security. Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force trained with NATO ships in the Mediterranean in 2022 and 2024, and in the Baltic Sea in 2018. Japan has designated a liaison officer to NATO’s Maritime Command.
Trust Funds: Japan has made generous contributions to NATO Trust Fund projects in various partner countries. Most recently, Japan has provided significant support to Ukraine, including through a contribution to NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine. Previous important contributions by Japan were designed to enhance stockpile management and the physical security of ammunition in Afghanistan and Tajikistan; destroy dangerous stocks of pesticides in the Republic of Moldova; and clear an ammunition depot in Georgia, as well as contaminated land in Azerbaijan.

Support for NATO-led operations and missions

Japan provided support for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and for wider reconstruction and development efforts in Afghanistan. It helped to mobilise international support for Afghanistan by organising the Tokyo Conference in July 2012 and pledging USD 5 billion to this end over a five-year period (2009-2013). Earlier, Japan supported efforts to disarm, demobilise and reintegrate former combatants, and to reintegrate insurgents under the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme. It also supported various initiatives, including human security projects at the grass roots level in several regions of Afghanistan, and contributed to the Afghan National Army Trust Fund.
In the 1990s, Japan played a role in stabilising the Balkans, where NATO has led several peace-support operations since the mid-1990s. As a major donor country, it has contributed to the successful recovery of the Balkans region and its reintegration into the European mainstream.