FOCUS:Japan, NATO interests increasingly align but ties still just symbolic

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's participation in a NATO summit for the second straight year demonstrates the strategic interests of Asia and Europe are increasingly converging as China's global security and economic footprint broadens, but with the relationship still in its infancy Tokyo's role appears largely symbolic.Kishida's oft-repeated notion that the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific is "inseparable" -- as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, coupled with concern over China's aggressive posture toward Taiwan and actions in the South and East China seas -- has been …READ FULL ARTICLE