[By Observer.com, Zhang Jingjuan] The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit will be held in The Hague, the Netherlands, from June 24 to 25. According to a report by Japan's Kyodo News, the Japanese government announced on the 23rd that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will cancel his plan to attend this summit. According to a report by Reuters in the UK, sources said that Japanese Foreign Minister Yachi Masahiro will represent Japan at the meeting.

The report stated that Japanese government officials earlier revealed that considering the US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities which has worsened the situation in the Middle East, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is currently coordinating and planning to give up attending the NATO summit.

According to analysis by Fuji Television, the reasons for Ishiba's cancellation of the trip include: the meeting between NATO and the so-called "IP4" (the "Indo-Pacific Four": Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea) is likely to not be held, and the meeting with US President Trump may also be canceled.

A source told Reuters that Trump had originally planned to hold a summit with the IP4.

Japan is not a NATO member. In June 2022, leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand attended the NATO summit held in Madrid, Spain. This was the first time NATO invited Asian Pacific countries to attend the summit, and it was also the first time a Japanese leader attended the NATO summit. Since then, Japan has participated every year.

Three days ago (on the 20th), Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa still announced at a press conference that Ishiba would visit the Netherlands from the 24th to the 26th. The White House spokesperson previously said that Trump would attend the meeting, so the Japanese side would explore the possibility of contacting Trump regarding tariff negotiations.

Hayashi said, "Under the consensus that security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific is inseparable, we will discuss specific cooperation between Japan and NATO."

He said that Ishiba plans to hold individual meetings with leaders of various countries.

Ishiba himself also stated at a press conference on the 17th that if Trump attends, he intends to seek an opportunity for separate contact to promote progress in the Japan-US tariff negotiations.

In the afternoon of June 19, 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gave an interview at the official residence. Kyodo News

Aside from tariff issues, Japan and the US have recently had some differences over military spending. On the 20th, the Financial Times in the UK reported that after the Trump administration asked Japan to increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, Japan canceled its regular "2+2" high-level meetings with its main ally, the United States.

Later, Kyodo News reprinted this report, while mentioning that the Japanese government has set a target to increase defense spending from around 1% for a long time to 2% of GDP by the fiscal year 2027. If the US insists on demanding 3.5%, it may become a new source of friction in Japan-US relations.

On the 23rd, when Hayashi was questioned about this issue at a press conference, he denied the claim, saying, "Regarding defense spending, this is not true." He said that how much money is spent is not important, what matters is how Japan enhances its military capabilities.

It is worth noting that before Japan announced its absence, South Korea also said it would not attend this NATO summit.

According to a statement from the South Korean National Security Office on the 22nd, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol decided not to attend the NATO summit. This is the first time South Korea has missed the NATO summit since being invited in 2022.

The South Korean National Security Office said that the government discussed whether President Yoon should attend the NATO summit this time. After taking into account multiple pressing domestic issues and uncertainties such as the situation in the Middle East, President Yoon finally decided not to attend the summit. South Korea will negotiate with NATO to have other government officials attend on its behalf.

The JoongAng Daily pointed out that there are opinions in the diplomatic community that if President Yoon does not attend the summit this time, it may make people realize that "South Korea's foreign policy has changed".

Additionally, the Trump administration plans to push allies to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP at this NATO summit. South Korea's current defense spending is about 2.3% of GDP, and President Yoon may feel burdened by this. However, the report believes that avoiding the issue will not make it disappear.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7519081469131391525/

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