PRESS
COMMUNIQUE - COMMUNIQUE PRESSE
NATO PA DELEGATION VISIT TO
JAPAN
JUNE 11-15,
2007
Japan
will continue to deregulate its economy, reinforce trade links throughout
Asia
and work to deepen ties with NATO and NATO members to advance global peace and
security. This was the message 22 Parliamentarians from the NATO Parliamentary
AssemblyÂ’s Economics and Security Committee will bring back to their capitals
after visiting Tokyo
and Osaka,
Japan
from June 11-15.
The
delegation, led by John Sewel (United
Kingdom),
Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Trans-Atlantic Economic Relations and
consisting of national parliamentarians from fifteen NATO member countries, held
meetings at the National Diet, the Foreign, Defence, Economy and International
Trade, and Finance Ministries. The delegation also had discussions with
Ms. Yuriko Koike, the National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister,
Mr. Taro Aso, the Foreign Minister of Japan and Mr. Fumio Kyuma, the
Defense Minister. Meetings were
also held with officials from the European CommissionÂ’s delegation to Japan,
experts in the British embassy – including Ambassador Sir Graham Fry - as well as a variety of other
government and private sector leaders.
JapanÂ’s
leaders recognize that their countryÂ’s security is inextricably linked to global
security developments including growing threats posed by non-state actors,
weapons proliferation, illegal financial flows and failed states. Both the Foreign and Defence Ministers
expressed strong concerns about security challenges in East
Asia
such as North
KoreaÂ’s
nuclear ambitions and missile development programs, and
ChinaÂ’s
large and “opaque” military build-up. These developments have sparked a
reassessment of JapanÂ’s
international role and the potential missions in which its Self-Defence Forces
might participate.
Yuriko
Koike, the National Security Adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, told the
delegation that she has been asked to create a new National Security Council
that will be charged with coordinating national security policy across various
ministries which have not always been in the habit of communicating with each
other.
JapanÂ’s
Defence Minister explained that his ministry had only recently been upgraded
from the status of an agency to that of a full ministry, and that this too was
an indication of JapanÂ’s
shifting security perceptions.
The
key message from JapanÂ’s
leaders was a clear desire for deeper security cooperation with NATO and its
member governments, and a willingness to contribute more actively to
international peacekeeping operations to the extent that such missions had been
upgraded from their previous status as “supplementary” missions for
JapanÂ’s
Self-Defence Forces and were now designated as “priority”
missions.
A
special commission had been appointed to investigate whether
JapanÂ’s
Constitution could be reinterpreted to ease some of the very tight restraints on
the roles and missions of the Self-Defence Forces which have been largely
confined to territorial defence and international humanitarian and
reconstruction operations. In the
longer term, there is also a movement to look at amending the Constitution more
into line with the rest of the international community regarding involvement of
its forces in international operations. This, the delegation heard, would enable
Japan
to operate more effectively with its international partners, contribute more
effectively to global peace and development, and better defend its own national
security. The government recognizes that this kind of reassessment is necessary
given the shifting security situation in East
Asia
and JapanÂ’s
global obligation to contribute positively to peace and security. Improving
JapanÂ’s
interoperability with international peacekeeping forces is another clear goal
which is driving the nascent dialogue between
Japan
and NATO.
Indeed,
both the Foreign and Defense Ministers underlined the importance of Prime
Minister AbeÂ’s visit to NATO headquarters this year and pointed to the countryÂ’s
support for several key NATO missions. Among other initiatives,
Japan
has deployed naval assets in the Indian
Ocean
to provide refuelling support for Western forces and is also underwriting the
work of a Lithuanian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) operating in
Afghanistan.
Delegation
members also learned that Japan
has begun to emerge from a decade of slow growth and deflation. The Koizumi and
Abe governments have implemented an array of reforms designed to make the
Japanese economy more competitive globally, and these reforms as well as growing
trade links in Asia
have helped pull the Japanese economy back to a position of growth. Japanese
leader are convinced, moreover, that growing Asian trade and financial links
with China
could help improve the regional economy. It will also improve the security
outlook by encouraging China
to develop ever closer and more positive relations with its neighbours.
Deregulation and budgetary austerity remain key priorities for the government.
Japan
recognizes that its powerful and growing economy provides a degree of global
leverage and responsibility particularly in the area of development policy. The need to reduce the budget deficit,
however, is imposing limits both on its defence and development assistance
budgets.
At
the conclusion of the visit, John Sewel said that “There is a clear convergence
between NATO members and Japanese on an array of security and economic matters
and this convergence is underpinned by common democratic values and shared
security concerns. We will strongly support more intensive cooperation in future
between the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the Japanese
Diet.”
In
view of the many security concerns shared by
Japan
and NATO, participating parliamentarians are interested in exploring ways in
which this ever-more important bilateral relationship might be strengthened. The
NATO PAÂ’s Economics and Security Committee has been focusing on
Asia
for the past three years, and in that time, has also produced two reports on
China
which are also posted on the NATO PA website. This year the Sub-Committee has
been considering a report,
drafted by co-Rapporteurs US
Congressman John Boozman and Lithuanian MP Petras Austrevicius, on the rapidly
changing East Asian economic and security systems. The primary purpose of the
visit was to generate information for that paperÂ’s revision and updating. A revised report will be considered for
adoption in October 2007 during the AssemblyÂ’s annual session in
Iceland.
For
further information, please contact
e-mail:
Press@nato-pa.int
NATO
Parliamentary Assembly
Place
du Petit Sablon 3, 1000 Brussels,
Belgium
Tél:
(32) 2 513 28 65 | Fax: (32) 2 514 18 47 |
website:
http:// www.nato-pa.int
|
Background
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly, founded
in 1955 with a Brussels-based secretariat,
brings
together 248 national parliamentarians from the 26 NATO countries.
In
addition, 16 associate delegations from Central and
Eastern
Europe,
Ukraine
and Russia;
5 Mediterranean
Associate delegations: Morocco,
Algeria,
Jordan,
Mauritania
and Israel
and
6 Parliamentary Observer delegations participate in Assembly activities and
meetings.