NATO chief visits Maritime Self-Defense Force base near Tokyo

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited a Maritime Self-Defense Force base south of Tokyo on 8th April, where he stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation with Japan and other Indo-Pacific nations.

He boarded a state-of-the-art frigate, and inspected defense equipment used for minesweeping at the Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture. He also stressed the importance of NATO's cooperation with countries, including Japan. Rutte is on a two-day visit to Japan. He is scheduled to give a speech at a university in Tokyo and meet Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on Wednesday.