Jens Stoltenberg & Shinzo Abe – Picture by nato.int.
Thursday, 24 May 2018, Brussels: The North Atlantic Council agreed to accept Japan’s behest to accredit its Embassy to the Kingdom of Belgium as its mission fully accredited to NATO.
The Ambassador of Japan to Belgium, H.E. Hajime Hayashi, thus shall become the first Head of the Mission of Japan to NATO. Until now he had merely been the Nipponese Government’s Representative to NATO without the status of a fully accredited ambassador.
In 2011, the Alliance decided to invite all partner nations to establish missions to NATO. Since then more than two dozen partners have done so, in order to further deepen ties with the Alliance.
Japan is NATO’s longest-standing partner outside Europe, with deepening cooperation since the early 1990s. Over the years, the Alliance and Japan have worked together to stabilize Afghanistan, to counter piracy off the coast of Somalia, and to strengthen partners like Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Jordan.
Today, Japan has liaison officers at NATO, including at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Belgium, and Maritime Command in the United Kingdom. Japan also contributes a staff officer in support of the Alliance’s work on Women, Peace and Security.
For further information:
Embassy of Japan to Belgium, Mission to NATO (HE Ambassador Hajime Hayashi): http://www.be.emb-japan.go.jp/itprtop_en/index.html
