On Thursday, June 6th 2026, we celebrated the anniversary of NATO-Japan Relations with a reception and defense exhibition at the ambassador's residence. Our mission was officially acknowledged by the North Atlantic Council in May 2018, and gained independence from the Embassy of Japan in Belgium last year in January.

During the reception both NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila SHEKERINSKA, and Ambassador IZAWA spoke about the growing momentum of NATO-Japan relations as well as the joint commitment to deepening concrete cooperation in a variety of fields.

While enjoying delicious Japanese food and traditional sake provided by Dassai, guests were able to explore the best and brightest the Japanese defense industry has to offer! 15 companies came all the way from Japan to exhibit their newest and latest models and equipment.

See the ambassador's speech and the full list of participating companies below:

Commendation Ceremony Former NATO Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General Ruxandra POPA

Before the reception, the Ambassador presented a Commendation to former NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATOPA) Secretary General for her significant contributions to promoting parliamentary exchanges and cooperation between Japan and NATO over the past 20 years.

Ambassador's speech: