2022
September

29

NATO-JAPAN

Defense Industrial Cooperation

Japan has been building a relationship with NATO as well as major European NATO members for several years, with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe being the first Japanese leader to visit NATO Headquarters in Brussels in 2007.  Over time, the relationship has strengthened to address shared security challenges. The practical cooperation includes areas such as maritime security, cyber defense and non-proliferation.

Japan first participated in a NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in December 2020.  In March 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited NATO Headquarters, and joined the NATO Summit in Madrid in June, alongside the leaders of non-NATO countries that included Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.  This Summit reflected a collective response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the increasing urgency for NATO countries and their partners to develop a unified response.

The deteriorating security environment in the Indo-Pacific has also emphasised need for strengthened interoperability amongst NATO and partner nations like Japan — not only in doctrine and operational policies, but also in equipment and closer integration among national defence industrial bases.  NATO has long championed common standards for all levels of equipment as well as shared approaches to key issues such as information security.

Japan has already taken some steps toward compatibility with NATO nations in equipment and doctrinal capability through its long-standing alliance with the U.S. and increasing cooperation with European countries. Further progress will depend on changes in the National Security Strategy and accompanying defence policies due by the end of this year.  

This panel will assess Japan’s journey toward closer relations with NATO and identify the most urgent lessons emerging from an increasingly unstable geostrategic environment — in particular, the impact of these changes on Japan’s defence industry.  How important is it for Japan’s industry to be able to collaborate with other NATO as well as non-NATO partners? Are the necessary policies and processes in place or under consideration?  What further changes might be anticipated in Japan’s revised National Defense Strategy?

September 29, 2022
Washington 08:00
London 13:00
Paris 14:00
New Delhi 17:30
Tokyo 21:00
Canberra 22:00

SPEAKERS

Rudy Priem
NATO Industrial Advisory Group (NIAG), Director Government and NATO Relations, Raytheon Technologies
Jun Nagashima
Former Liaison Officer to NATO and the EU, Embassy of Japan in Belgium, Adjunct Professor, National Defense Academy
Liviu Lazar
Industry Relations and EDT/Innovation, Strategy Directorate of Defence Investment Division, NATO HQ
Nobushige Takamizawa
Former Ambassador of Japan Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo

MODERATED BY

Dr. Tomohiko Taniguchi

Former Special Advisor to the Cabinet of
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
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BAE Systems plc is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. As of 2017, it is the biggest manufacturer in Britain.
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Collins Aerospace is an American technology corporation that is one of the world’s largest suppliers of aerospace and defense products. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, it is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies.
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L3Harris Technologies (L3Harris) is an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider that produces C6ISR systems and products, wireless equipment, tactical radios, avionics and electronic systems, night vision equipment, and both terrestrial and spaceborne antennas for use in the government, defense, and commercial sectors. They specialize in surveillance solutions, microwave weaponry, and electronic warfare.
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The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington, D.C. area.
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Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney’s aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut.
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Patria Plc is a Finnish provider of defence, security and aviation life-cycle support services. Patria is owned 50.1% by the Finnish government and 49.9% by Norwegian defense group Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace AS.
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Ansys, Inc. is an American multinational company with its headquarters based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. It develops and markets CAE/multiphysics engineering simulation software for product design, testing and operation and offers its products and services to customers worldwide.
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Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia; it is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitalization as well as one of the largest providers of intelligence services.
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Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd, doing business as ST Engineering, is a Singaporean multinational technology and engineering group in the aerospace, smart city as well as defence and public security sectors.
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