Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday that he is scheduled to visit the United States and Germany next week to participate in a NATO summit and hold talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
At a meeting attended by senior government officials and ruling party lawmakers, Kishida said he intends to boost cooperation with NATO and Germany during his five-day trip through July 14 to “lay firm foundations” for dealing with the current international situation.
Although Japan is not a member of NATO, Kishida is set to join its summit for the third straight year to demonstrate solidarity with the trans-Atlantic alliance amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The summit is slated to take place in Washington.
During the upcoming summit in Germany, Kishida and Scholz are expected to discuss economic security issues, such as growing concern about China’s overproduction in sectors including electric vehicles and solar panels, a government source said.