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Lithuania and Japan expand defence cooperation

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2025-05-29
International cooperation | Security and defense policy

Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakalienė met with Minister of Defence Gen Nakatani in Japan today in the first official visit of such level in ten past years and demonstration of growing strategic ties between the two countries.

Ministers discussed efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation across principal areas while emphasizing the particular importance of a regular dialogue and coordinated actions for solving global security issues in the current geopolitical environment.

"Japan is a strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific. We are bound together by shared democratic values and respect of the international law which forms a strong foundation for a sustained partnership. Even if we are located on the opposite sides of the world geographically, our view towards autocratic regimes and security cooperation turns us into close Allies," said Minister of National Defence D. Šakalienė.

During her visit, Minister D. Šakalienė presented Lithuania's Indo-Pacific Strategy which lays out a long-term commitment to developing meaningful partnerships with countries of the region. Minister also accentuated that Lithuania had decided to join the Pacific Security Maritime Exchange (PSMX) format, a political operative structure in support of monitoring and execution of the UN sanctions against North Korea.

Minister D. Šakalienė welcomed Japan's intent to join the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) initiative and thanked for Japan's decision to transfer to Ukraine USD 3 billion of frozen Russian assets interest. She also underscored the importance of Japan's active contribution in the Capability Coalition for Demining and praised the country's further support to the training activities in the framework.

When discussing way forward, both Ministers agreed that the bilateral cooperation was consistently increasing and reiterated the commitment to further mutual effort across key areas, such as cyber security, strategic communication, and military exchange. The Ministers also look forward to the Lithuanian-Japan Defence Industry Forum during the Lithuanian President's visit to Japan in July.

Šakalienė also met with Chair of the Committee on National Security Takashi Endo, former Minister of Defence Minoru Kihara and National Security Advisor Masataka Okano.