Mark Rutte arrived on Tuesday for his first visit to Japan as NATO Secretary General. Ahead of the trip, he said that the alliance needs to “build up the meat on the bones” of cooperation with the Indo-Pacific Four, which, in addition to Japan, includes Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. According to Rutte, cooperation with these countries should go beyond joint declarations and become more practical.
Rutte held talks with Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and visited the Naval base in Yokosuka, 70 km from Tokyo (pictured). Japan, together with the United States, produces AMRAAM medium-range missiles and PAC-3 MSE anti-aircraft missiles for Patriot systems. During the recent visit of Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth to Tokyo, the joint production of SM-6 anti-ship missiles was discussed. Together with Italy and the United Kingdom, Japan is developing a new generation of fighters. On Wednesday, Rutte will hold talks with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, meet with members of parliament and deliver a lecture on “NATO and Japan – Strong Partnerships in an interconnected World” at Keio University in the capital.
