Japan PM Ishiba to Skip NATO Summit
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has canceled his visit to the Netherlands for the NATO summit, the Japanese government announced Monday.
While the government press release said that the cancellation of the three-day trip from Tuesday was due to 'various circumstances,' informed sources said that the decision reflected the tense situation in the Middle East.
The prime minister is expected to focus on ensuring the safety of Japanese nationals in Iran and Israel, and also on maintaining stable energy supplies.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung had already decided not to attend the summit. Like Japan, South Korea is an Indo-Pacific partner of NATO.
Earlier on Monday, Ishiba told reporters in the city of Itoman in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa, 'As my main objective (of the trip) is to attend a meeting involving South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, I'd like to reach a decision after taking the attendance status of such nations into consideration.'
Ishiba was set to hold talks with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and others as part of Japan's engagement as a NATO partner nation.
Japan's prime minister has attended the NATO summit since 2022, when Russia launched its invasion on Ukraine.
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