Kishida heads to NATO to warn of East Asia risks

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will join NATO leaders in Lithuania on Tuesday to remind an alliance focused on Ukraine to pay heed to Chinese and Russian activity in Asia, which Japan sees as a threat to global security.

Kishida’s second visit to a North Atlantic Treaty Organization gathering, along with the leaders of South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, comes as Japan doubles defense spending to deter Chinese and Russian forces in the waters and skies around Japan.

With Japan feeling it can no longer solely rely on its old ally the U.S. to back it up, Kishida is also courting new security partners.

“Japan talks about principles such as territorial integrity, but the message to Europe is ‘don’t forget about the Indo-Pacific, no matter how difficult the situation with Russia is’,” said Michito Tsuruoka, a NATO expert at Keio University.

For the past year, Kishida has been urging “like-minded nations” to stick together while warning that a Ukraine-like conflict, which Russia describes as a special operation, may erupt in East Asia if China tries to take control of self-ruled Taiwan. China has criticized Japan for a “Cold War mentality”.

In its most recent annual national security assessment, Japan described as surrounded by nuclear-armed actors, including China, North Korea and Russia, which is also a neighbor to six NATO members. Tokyo worries about getting sucked into a conflict over Taiwan, which is only 100 km (62 miles) away.