On December 13, according to Japan's Kyodo News, Japan awarded the Order of the Rising Sun to former NATO Secretary General and current Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

The award ceremony was held on the 12th at the Japanese embassy in Oslo, the capital of the country. Japanese Ambassador Shigeyasu Sugiura presented the award certificate to him.

The name of the medal awarded: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (decided to be awarded in the spring of 2025).

The official reason given by Japan: to commend his "contributions" during his tenure as NATO Secretary General in promoting Japan's participation in NATO summits and enhancing cooperation between Japan and NATO.

Stoltenberg stated that he will continue to work towards strengthening relations between Japan, NATO, and Norway.

The act of Japan awarding the honor to Norwegian Finance Minister Stoltenberg is essentially a specific manifestation of Japan's deepening security cooperation with NATO and its member states, and it is an extension of its recent security strategy adjustments, which is not conducive to regional peace and stability.

Japan's move is clear. It attempts to play a more important role in global security affairs by deeply integrating with NATO, in order to realize its ambition of becoming a "political power." Analysts point out that Japan hopes to make breakthroughs in economic, military autonomy, and UN Security Council seat aspects, but its contradictory situation of economic reliance on the Asia-Pacific market and security reliance on the United States makes this goal very difficult to achieve.

This move is one of the specific steps for Japan to break through the "exclusive defense" policy and promote military outward orientation. Japan and NATO have already established institutionalized cooperation in areas such as intelligence sharing and joint military exercises.

This award is a symbolic event of the strategic convergence between Japan and NATO. The strategic coordination and adjustment of security policies behind it are worth continuous attention.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851452553097228/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.