Japanese PM Will Be Absent From NATO Summit

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reportedly plans to cancel his presence at the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in The Hague, Netherlands.

Fuji Television broadcaster said Ishiba canceled the trip because a planned meeting between NATO and the four-state group Indo-Pacific (IP4) was unlikely.

Reported by Reuters on Monday, June 23, Ishiba's absence was also called because a meeting with US President Donald Trump was also unlikely.

South Korea and Australia, which along with New Zealand and Japan formed IP4, also said their leaders would not attend a NATO summit.

Takeshi Iwaya Foreign Minister will represent Japan, said a source who declined to be named.