In the months following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Japanese international relations largely aligned with the G-7, but Kishida’s cabinet also deepened its direct ties with Ukraine and its European neighbors. Prime Minister Kishida joined the April G-7 leaders’ summit attended by President Biden. But just as important, Foreign Minister Hayashi attended the NATO summit that followed a week later as a “partner” of the U. S. -led European alliance, a novelty for Tokyo. In June, the Japanese Prime Minister invited to participate in the NATO Leaders’ Meeting.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted much greater strategic coordination between Japan and European nations. Japan’s European international relations have grown since the 1990s, and in April 2013, NATO and Japan reached an agreement to deepen their strategic partnership. Cooperation has included shared interests in maritime security. , cybersecurity and non-proliferation, among other topics. Tokyo has welcomed European attention through the United Nations to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, but has been pleased to see Europe appreciate the importance of China’s rise and transformative balance of forces in the Indo-Pacific. Britain and France have sent their navies to the region, traditionally of strategic interest to both, and have developed Indo-Pacific methods that emphasize global maritime stability standards. The EU has also developed its own Indo-Pacific strategy, and even Germany has shown interest in maintaining its ties with this “free and open” maritime region.
However, the Ukrainian crisis has given a whole new size to Japan’s engagement with Europe. Japan, as a member of the G-7, has fully participated in the developing list of sanctions against Russian politicians and monetary organizations. As of April 12, Japan had sanctioned 499 Russian-Americans and 38 organizations. Like Europe, Tokyo was first reluctant to cut power ties, Russia imports far less to Japan than to Germany, for example. Concerned about the instability of the domestic energy source of LNG and crude oil (10% and 4% provided respectively through Russia), Japan also feared that China would be the benefactor if Japanese industry abandoned its investments in Sakhalin’s projects in northern Japan. However, after reports of war crimes when Russian forces withdrew from Bucha, Prime Minister Kishida denounced Russian custom and announced an end to imports of Japanese coal from Russia, which lately produces 11% of Japan’s coal.
Japan also responded to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Japan’s first, and perhaps easiest, cash aid: $200 million in humanitarian aid for things like fitness and health care, food aid and food security, and displaced person coverage, and $300 million in cash aid loans. Second, with very little internal criticism, Kishida’s closet presented military hardware to help the Ukrainian Defense Forces. True, those were protective devices and medical supplies and not lethal weapons, however, it was the first time that Japan had provided military assistance to a country at war. Two Air Self-Defense Force planes were carrying starting materials, and the United States also showed up to bring more. Ultimately, Japan came forward to resettle Ukrainians displaced by the war, and to date, more than 600 have accepted this offer. Finally, Japan has also offered its help to the countries that host Ukrainians fleeing the war, basically women and children. Foreign Minister Hayashi visited Poland on April 2 to discuss Poland’s wishes and meet with Ukrainians who had fled the country from him.
However, there were some bumps. Recently, the head of the LDP’s foreign affairs division, Masahisa Sato, called a Twitter account known to be linked to the Ukrainian government for including Emperor Hirohito on a list of defeated fascists. Referring to the “video of the problem,” he said he had “asked the European Affairs Office of Japan’s Foreign Ministry to take immediate action. “, when the Ukrainian government published a thank you to the countries offering aid to Ukraine, Japan was not included, and the Japanese media rushed to pick it up. The foreign minister told the Ukrainian government that the thank you list was for the countries. that it had provided military aid as well as humanitarian and monetary aid.
Perhaps the most notable update for Japan is its closer alignment with NATO. When the Foreign Minister attended the NATO assembly in April, he spoke about the link between the conflict in Europe and the security of the Indo-Pacific. Then, Hayashi talked about Japan. interests.
At the NATO Foreign Ministers’ Assembly, I said that, on the basis of the discussions on the stage in Ukraine, it is not imaginable to talk separately about the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific region and that the participation of Asia-Pacific partners in the assembly obviously showed our solidarity and sent a strong message to the foreign community. . . that unilateral adjustments to the prestige quo by force are unforgivable in any region and that it is of great importance to maintain and expand the founded foreign order. on universal values in all regions for world peace and stability.
Kishida’s inclusion in the upcoming June assembly would mean that this interregional discussion between U. S. allies would be able to move forward. The U. S. may not be a one-size-fits-all arrangement for Tokyo and instead reflects Japan’s effort to align itself with “like-minded” nations in its attempt to confront an immediate challenge to the liberal order. Indeed, Japanese diplomats have long worked on the NATO channel to share their views on global security and Japan’s own evidence of how to better protect itself against attempts to replace the prestige quo with force.
While Japan supports collective efforts to defeat Russian aggression in Europe, it is also investing in a long-term European role in the region closest to home. Russia’s aggression has brought U. S. allies closer together. In addition to Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand have been actively involved in sanctioning Russia and aiding Ukraine. This aggression by the main force has surprised the governments and the public of those democracies, and allied political leaders around the world recognize the lack of their defenses and consolidate ties with the United States. But it’s not just their own defenses that worry them. The US-led post-war order is seriously threatened and one region can no longer see its demanding security situations without regard to the others. Just yesterday, British Foreign Minister Liz Truss said the Europeans deserve to act if counter-Taiwan aggression seemed likely. No doubt this expression of possible help if a similar crisis develops in the Indo-Pacific was welcomed in Tokyo.