NATO chief shares insights in exclusive interview with NHK World

NHK

3 days ago

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Japan in April ― six months after he took office ― seeking stronger ties with the country. NHK World's Sugita Sachiyo had an exclusive interview with the political heavyweight who shared his insights on issues ranging from Japan's technological prowess to concerns about China.
Rutte also revealed his own personal connection with Japan. Sugita offers a firsthand account of the visit, followed by a transcript of the pair's interview which was originally broadcast on April 10.
Rutte arrived at the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force base in Yokosuka, on a sunny spring day. Standing over 190 cm tall, he stood out among his Japanese hosts onboard a frigate. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited a Maritime Self-Defense Force base in Yokosuka on April 8.
During the tour, he was briefed on the installed military equipment, including United States-made underwater drones and Canadian sonars.
I had a chance to ask a question at a brief press conference on site, but the microphone handed to me would not work, even after several attempts.
"Here, let's do this. You can use my mic," Rutte said with a laugh, and stepped down from the podium. He held his microphone towards me.
"When it comes to maritime security, Japan faces difficulties with China destabilizing the region and ignoring the international laws. So is your presence here, your visit here at the Marine Self Defense Forces, kind of like a message towards China and your support towards Japan?," I asked.
Rutte replied: "I would argue that we have this cooperation now with Japan, but also with Korea, with Australia, with New Zealand, for now, for many years now, So that is important, and of course, it also has to do with the role China is playing. Let's not be naive about it. China is supporting the Russian war effort. China is building up its armed forces, including its navy, at a rapid pace. So we cannot be naive, and we really have to work together to assess what is happening." Japan's tech capabilities
The administration led by US President Donald Trump has been pushing Europe to bolster its defense capabilities. Rutte's trip included a visit to a facility operated by Mitsubishi Electric, which is involved in a project to create a next-generation fighter jet being co-developed by Japan, Britain and Italy. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited a Mitsubishi Electric facility in Kanagawa Prefecture on April 8.
"We need this next-generation fighter jet to be available as soon as possible," said the NATO chief, noting Japan's high-tech capabilities. "Air defense systems, but also space, these are all areas where we really, as NATO, want to work more closely with Japan."
Officials from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry arranged a meeting for Rutte with Japanese startups developing dual-use products that have civilian and military applications, including drones and quantum technologies.
Rutte also met Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru during his visit, and the two leaders agreed to expand cooperation in the defense industry, as well as other fields. In June, the NATO Summit will be held in the Hague – Rutte's hometown – and Ishiba is expected to attend. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on April 9. NHK World spoke one-on-one with Rutte during his stay in Tokyo
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
NHK World's Sugita Sachiyo: You have been stressing defense cooperation, but now many allies are wondering if they should continue to buy from, and rely on, the US. With this unpredictability, would cooperation with Japan's defense industry offer attractive alternatives?
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte: I would not say alternatives, because I think that allies will still work very much together within the alliance, including with the United States. But we also need – and this is not instead of, but 'and' – the Japanese industrial base, to become even more involved. And anything you guys here in Japan can do to make sure when it comes to the rules and the regulations, et cetera, to make it even easier to buy into the Japanese industrial base, will be highly appreciated, because we need this collective industrial base within the alliance, but also with our partners. One-on-one with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on April 9
Sugita: Japan has specific restrictions towards the export of weapons. So would you welcome it if the Japanese government lifted these kinds of regulations?
Rutte: Of course, I have to be hesitant in advising, through the media, the Japanese government. But whatever we can do to expand that, of course we would love it, because you have a huge and successful defense industry.
By the way, China is still suggesting that they are sort of neutral when it comes to Ukraine. They still try to project this position of neutrality when it comes to Ukraine and Russia. This is crazy, because they are not neutral. They are very much involved. They are one of the key enablers. So let's not be naive.
They're delivering dual-use goods. They are helping with sanctions, circumstances, and in the meantime, they are building up the Chinese armed forces at a staggering rate. For example, when it comes to space, where Japan is really at the cutting edge, I think that will be helpful, particularly now with what is happening in China.
Sugita: So you have mentioned China. The US has said that they want NATO to take seriously the threats emanating from China. How will NATO respond to this?
Rutte: Let's not be naive about China. As I said, China is a key enabler of the Russian war effort in Ukraine. China is rapidly building up its own armed forces.
I think Japan clearly has acknowledged this, and the US administration wants NATO, when it comes to the projection of the collective impact, to become more involved when it comes to our Indo Pacific partners – Japan, but also Korea and Australia and New Zealand. And we are doing that, and that is important. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Sugita: And maybe this trip, you in Japan…will also be, in that context, a part of it?
Rutte: Yes and that's why I wanted to be here early in my tenure as Secretary General of NATO. Of course, we also have strong partnerships with the other IP4 countries [Indo-Pacific Four – Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea]. But Japan is by far the biggest economy in the IP4. You are the only G7 economy not in NATO. So cooperation is important – and not to extend Article Five [of NATO's founding treaty] to a collective defense clause to the Indo Pacific. That will not happen, I believe.
But to have this practical cooperation when it comes to defense, industrial production, innovation – for example, working on joint standards to make that all possible.
Sugita: I have heard from many NATO diplomats commending you on your good relations with President Trump. Could you maybe share with us, what's the secret recipe to getting along with him?
Rutte: I don't think there is a recipe. We just like each other. Yes, we just like to work together – take, for example, on Ukraine, the fact that he broke a deadlock and said, we cannot accept the killing to continue at this rate. We cannot accept the fact that so many cities and their infrastructure are being destroyed. We have got to stop this.
I really commend him for that and I think the US – being the world's strongest economy, the most powerful ally in NATO – for him, as president of that country, to take that initiative was important, and he broke the deadlock. Let's hope that he can bring this, and we will all support him, to a durable and lasting peace. But personally, yes, I like to work with him, and I think that this goes both ways.
Sugita: On the US again – currently, there are many concerns from allies about the tariffs it is imposing. I know you've been repeatedly saying that this isn't for NATO, but how will you strive to keep the alliance together, and strong, despite these situations?
Rutte: The tariff fight will have an impact on individual allies. And of course we are worried about that, because that could also impact their power in terms of investing more in defense when it comes to the real money. So that could be an impact. But collectively, as an alliance, of course, we have nothing to do with these terms.
Sugita: What is your ideal picture of how the war in Ukraine will end?
Rutte: The end has to be that Ukraine is there as a sovereign nation – that when there is a peace deal, that Putin will never, ever, ever try to capture one square mile, slash one square kilometer of Ukraine in the future again. And it means that a ceasefire – slash, a peace deal – has to be, as I said, lasting.
We should make sure of that, not like in 2014 when he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] captured Crimea, and we had these Minsk accords and then, basically, 12 to 18 months later, he started again. We cannot have that again. We have to be clear [to him], when there's a peace deal, it is there, and [he] can never do this again. Flags of NATO and its member countries
Sugita: I've heard from NATO sources that you speak a little Japanese.
Rutte: No, I just can count to 10. But let me not do it, because probably it is totally wrong. My parents lived between Osaka and Kobe in the 1950s. So at home, there were so many Japanese discussions, about Japan and their lovely living here. I was really raised with a lot of respect for Japan.
Thank you for the leadership Japan is now taking. We really want even more of that, because we need you, Japan, with all its strength and its power and its economy and its defense industrial base now, when it comes to China.
We cannot be naive about China, and we've seen what is happening there. We have to work together on this. So I really want to thank you [for] what you're doing, and whatever you can do more of. It's highly appreciated.