Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided to cancel his attendance at the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday, reports Reuters.
The cancellation comes amid the expected absence of a planned meeting between NATO and the Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) nations—Japan, Australia, South Korea, and New Zealand—as well as the dwindling likelihood of a bilateral session with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to Fuji Television.
A second source confirmed that Trump had initially expressed interest in hosting a summit with IP4 leaders on the sidelines, but shifting schedules led to the plan being shelved. Both sources requested anonymity due to lack of authorization to speak publicly.
In Ishiba’s place, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will attend the summit, representing Japan’s interests at the high-level gathering of transatlantic and Indo-Pacific allies.
Japan’s prime minister has consistently attended every NATO summit since 2022, when Japan was first invited in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Just three days prior, Japan’s foreign ministry had confirmed Ishiba’s participation, stating he would “reaffirm with NATO allies and others the recognition that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable.”
The last-minute change of plans also means that several bilateral meetings Ishiba was scheduled to attend will either be cancelled or delegated to his foreign minister.
Japan’s continued participation in NATO forums underscores its growing strategic alignment with Western security partners, especially as geopolitical tensions deepen across both the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific theatres.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
