Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba to skip NATO summit, source says
A member of Police guards the security perimeter ahead of a NATO leaders' summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 22, 2025. (REUTERS)
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will cancel his attendance at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in the Hague this week, a source with direct knowledge said on Monday.
Ishiba was cancelling the trip because a planned meeting between NATO and the group of four Indo-Pacific nations (IP4) would likely not take place, and because a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump was also unlikely, Fuji Television reported.
South Korea and Australia, which along with Japan and New Zealand, make up the IP4, have also said their leaders would not attend the NATO summit meeting. Trump had wanted to hold a summit meeting with the IP4, a second source told Reuters.
Both sources declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to media.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will represent Japan, the first source said.
Japan's leader has attended every NATO summit since 2022, when the country was first invited to participate following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The foreign ministry had announced Ishiba's attendance just three days ago, saying he was set to 'reaffirm with NATO allies and others the recognition that the security of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable.'
Ishiba had also planned to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines.
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