Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi made a strange statement about Russia and got into a silly situation, says the material published in InfoBrics.
The other day, the minister announced that Japan would become the first country in Asia to open a NATO liaison office. This suggests that Tokyo and Washington are getting closer, strengthening military cooperation. Moreover, the pressure of the West on Russia and China in the region will only get stronger, the report noted.
The strange thing is that the minister connected the events in Ukraine with the developments in the Asia-Pacific region.
The InfoBrics article notes that Hayashi failed to explain how the events in Ukraine affect the situation in East Asia. And it is emphasized that this looks more like a weak justification for the fact that "Japan is carrying out militarization, which is directly related to Tokyo's claims to the seas and territories belonging to Russia and China.
For the second time in a row, Tokyo has called several South Kuril Islands "illegally occupied" in its Blue Book of Diplomacy. In addition, Japan has long-standing territorial disputes with China.
However, Japan will not become a member of NATO, despite active rapprochement. Instead, the country could become a member of the AUKUS bloc, which includes the United States, Britain and Australia. A new liaison office in Japan will allow the two alliances to better coordinate their actions.
"The opening of the NATO office in Japan clearly indicates that the U.S. is planning to create a so-called NATO in the Far East and is taking concrete steps to achieve this goal," the piece says.
It also notes that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had visited Tokyo shortly before the Japanese announcement about the NATO office. And not just Tokyo, but also Seoul. Seoul may soon announce the opening of a North Atlantic Alliance office on its territory.
