For the first time, NATO and Japan have held dedicated talks on how to work together to strengthen defence industries and future military capabilities, a clear signal that security ties between Europe and the Indo-Pacific are deepening.
The staff-to-staff dialogue, hosted at NATO Headquarters on Friday (31 October), brought together senior officials from both sides to discuss everything from uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and counter-drone technology to supply chain security and innovation.
“Developing the Alliance’s defence industry to fulfil new capability targets, in cooperation with our close partners, is our main priority,” said Tarja Jaakkola, NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Defence Industry, Innovation and Armaments.
“The current security environment supports our aim to increase practical coordination and further strengthen our defence industrial cooperation with Japan,” she added.
The meeting, chaired by Ms Jaakkola, also explored Japan’s potential participation in future NATO multinational projects across land, air, maritime, and even space capabilities, signalling just how wide-ranging the cooperation could become.
Japanese representatives included Mr Takizawa Go, Deputy Commissioner of the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA), Mr Hatada Hiroyuki of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and Ambassador Izawa Osamu.
This new dialogue follows on from a joint statement made earlier this year by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the four Indo-Pacific partners, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, during the NATO Summit in The Hague. That agreement set the stage for closer collaboration on supply chain resilience, defence production, and technology innovation.
The talks mark another step in NATO’s strategy to strengthen ties with like-minded democracies in the Indo-Pacific, ensuring that, as global threats evolve, so too does international cooperation.
