Japanese Premier Ishiba to skip NATO summit

By Aamir Latif

ANKARA / KARACHI (AA) - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday canceled his planned visit to the NATO leaders’ summit this week following US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, the Japan Times reported.

Ishiba is the second leader among four Asia-Pacific nations invited to recent NATO summits — alongside Australia, South Korea, and New Zealand — to withdraw from attending.

NATO leaders are scheduled to convene Tuesday in The Hague, Netherlands, for a two-day summit.

Earlier, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung also decided to skip the summit, sending National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac in his place.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also indicated he will not attend.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry cited “various circumstances” in announcing Ishiba’s withdrawal.

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will represent Tokyo at the summit instead.

Separately on Monday, Tokyo dismissed a report by the Financial Times that a planned Japan-US “two-plus-two” security dialogue had been canceled.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi refuted the report, saying the meeting schedule had not yet been finalized.