WASHINGTON: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday agreed to set up a dedicated communication line for exchanging classified information as part of efforts to deepen security cooperation between the two sides.

Kishida and Stoltenberg, meeting in Washington on the sidelines of the NATO summit, also agreed to cooperate on measures against disinformation, an apparent effort to counter attempts by China and Russia to manipulate public opinion and engage in information warfare through social media.

At the beginning of the meeting, Kishida said Japan wants to strengthen information-sharing with NATO and promote cooperation with the alliance in various fields, including space, cyber and joint training.

Stoltenberg said it is important for Japan and NATO to cooperate closely to address threats including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Kishida and Stoltenberg confirmed that Japan will host NATO member states and other countries this fiscal year for a meeting on strategic communications including the fight against disinformation.

They agreed that Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and NATO will hold joint exercises in the Euro-Atlantic region this year.

Later, Kishida held a four-way summit with leaders from South Korea, Australia and New Zealand in which they agreed to cooperate in cyber defense and other fields. Later, the leaders of the four NATO partner countries pledged support for Ukraine during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

JIJI Press