Prime Minister Kishida Considers Attending NATO Summit... Also Exploring Japan-South Korea Summit

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida [Image source=Yonhap News]

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is reportedly considering attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit to be held in Madrid, Spain, on the 29th and 30th of this month.

Kyodo News reported this on the 4th, citing Japanese government officials. If Prime Minister Kishida actually attends the NATO summit, it will be the first time for a Japanese prime minister.

According to Kyodo News, Prime Minister Kishida is expected to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Germany from the 26th to the 28th, and then move on to Spain.

It is known that Prime Minister Kishida is coordinating his attendance at the NATO summit as part of strengthening solidarity with the United States and Europe in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's military rise.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is also reportedly considering attending the NATO summit, drawing attention to whether a South Korea-Japan summit will take place.

The last face-to-face summit between the South Korean and Japanese leaders was held in December 2019, when then-President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the trilateral summit of South Korea, China, and Japan in China, and no such meeting has occurred for two and a half years since then.

Kyodo News reported, citing multiple Japanese government officials, that the South Korean side is proposing to the Japanese side the holding of a South Korea-Japan summit on the occasion of the NATO summit.