July 5, 2024

Bridging Two Oceans: The Evolving NATO-Japan Relationship

Kanenori/Pixabay
Kanenori/Pixabay
The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan
The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan

Russia’s war in Ukraine has brought attention to the vulnerabilities and dependencies within global security architectures, thereby highlighting the interconnectedness of global security. The war also underscores the importance of reinforcing alliances and building partnerships to address complex challenges. NATO’s partnerships with Japan and other Indo-Pacific countries have become more crucial than ever in addressing shared threats and promoting a rules-based international order.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has dramatically affected NATO’s relations with its Indo-Pacific partners, specifically Japan, resulting in a strategic realignment. However, despite a political commitment and desire for closer ties between NATO and Japan, further efforts must be made to achieve more concrete results in practice. Areas of collaboration, such as maritime defence and cybersecurity, have shown more tangible results, while others, like the defence industry and armaments, could be further leveraged, as Japan’s advanced technology and expertise in military equipment production present opportunities for joint development and production projects with NATO Allies. 

This policy paper aims to analyse how the outbreak of Russia’s war in Ukraine and other factors in the evolving security environment have shaped the dynamics of NATO’s and its Allies’ relations with their Indo-Pacific partners and what the opportunities for strengthening the partnerships would be. Additionally, this paper examines, from a partnership perspective, the significance and importance of the NATO Liaison Office in Tokyo which is likely to continue to be considered within NATO and provides an opinion on the establishment of a new NATO Strategy Direction West – Research Hub in a longer-term strategic context. 

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