TOKYO: Japan welcomes Finland’s accession to NATO, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Wednesday.

Tokyo “supports the decision and respects efforts to complete accession procedures,” Matsuno told a press conference.

Japan will strengthen its ties with NATO further to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region, he said.

An increasingly severe international security environment is making cooperation among like-minded countries more important, Matsuno said, referring to the conflict in Ukraine.

JIJI Press