Japanese PM joins regional leaders in skipping NATO summit

Japan said on June 23 that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has cancelled plans to attend this week's NATO summit, joining other Indo-Pacific countries in saying that their leaders will not attend, and raising questions about future regional cooperation.

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TOKYO/WASHINGTON -

Japan's Foreign Ministry announced the scrapping of Mr. Ishiba's June 24 to 26 trip just three days after announcing he would attend the meeting in The Hague to "reaffirm with NATO allies and others the recognition that the security of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable."

The decision came after US President Donald Trump joined Israel's air war against Iran and mooted the possibility of the Tehran government being toppled.

The Japanese ministry said "various circumstances" led to the cancellation. The US State Department said it had no comment on the cancellations, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Japan's Fuji Television said Mr. Ishiba was pulling out because a planned meeting between NATO and the group of four Indo-Pacific nations (IP4) was not likely to take place, and because a meeting with Mr. Trump was also unlikely.