News NATO to open Japan office

The plans were confirmed by both Japanese and NATO officials. The idea of opening a liaison office was first discussed between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during the latter's visit to Tokyo at the end of January. In mid-April, the alliance circulated a draft proposal among its 31 members, according to a person with knowledge of the proceedings. The proposal is to open a one-person liaison office in Tokyo next year. Whether the Japanese side provides the office space or if NATO funds the station is still under negotiation. NATO has similar liaison offices at the United Nations in New York, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna, as well as in Georgia, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova and Kuwait.

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The resistance from France has complicated months of discussion within NATO over the opening of the outpost in Tokyo, it also said, citing eight people familiar with the situation. One French official reportedly suggested that the opening of the office could undermine European credibility with China in regard to the war in Ukraine, particularly in terms of asking the Chinese not to supply arms to Russia. Another person was quoted as saying that France was reluctant to back anything "that contributes to NATO-China tension." Macron made waves in April for his comments in a media interview that Europe should not be a "follower" of either the United States or China, cautioning against being drawn into a crisis over Taiwan amid the two countries' rivalry.

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[...] there are several reasons to question the significance of a NATO office in Japan. Such a project will likely fuel Beijing's narrative of an aggressive Western strategy in the region, but at the same time, it will not provide much to Asian partners. At a regional level, a NATO office in Japan creates unease. Like in Africa or the Middle East, the alliance has a negative perception across Asia: the organization is usually seen as a mere extension of U.S. foreign policy. Some commentators fear NATO would spread to Asia a "destructive militaristic culture," to use the expression of Kishore Mahbubani, a former Singaporean diplomat and influential voice. This reflects the desire of Southeast Asian countries and also India to avoid importing a Western template for Asia's security architecture. For those countries, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine does not strengthen the relevance of NATO but weakens it.

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Even putting the internal politics aside, a NATO office in Japan would not make a big difference in military capabilities. It has been wrongly described as a new "outpost" of the alliance in Asia. In reality, the office would likely involve one permanent representative, mainly relying on the bureaucracy of the headquarters in Brussels. In practice, there is already NATO representation in Japan: it is provided by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Tokyo. This common practice designates the national embassy of a NATO member as the point of contact in one country. This underlines that NATO's administration is modest and heavily relies on the resources its member states are willing to provide.

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