Finland's defence chief visits 'like-minded' Japan - NHKニュース

Finland's defence chief visits 'like-minded' Japan Finland's Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen sees Japan as an ideal security partner in an increasingly threatening world. Their challenges are, he insists, "heavily interconnected," not least because of the vast neighbor they share.

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"We are seeing Russia from the western side. You are seeing Russia as a neighbor from the eastern side," says Hakkanen to NHK World late last month in Tokyo. He was in Japan for talks with his counterpart Koizumi Shinjiro. They agreed that the security environments in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions are inseparable. They also agreed to deepen cooperation.Hakkanen's visit came at a challenging time. The threat from Russia is growing in Europe, but the United States has recently taken a series of actions that no doubt left President Vladimir Putin beaming. Washington, for example, has waived sanctions against Moscow, and even struck a deal to buy Russian diesel despite the war in Ukraine.Hakkanen believes countries must understand that these economic penalties are essential to achieving peace.

"In the long term, Ukraine's path is west and the European Union," says the 41-year-old minister. "We hope they will be a part of NATO."And to make that happen, Hakkanen says there are two pillars."First, we need much bigger support for Ukraine's defenses, and then harder sanctions on Russia. And then there is a solution through diplomacy. But if you don't show strength to Russia, if you show weakness, lift sanctions and everything, Russia will continue with warfare.""So, we have to be united as Western democratic countries," he says. "And defending our values starts in Ukraine at this time in history."

Many people in Finland are acutely aware of the threat on their doorstep. The Nordic country shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia and valiantly maintained its independence in World War Two, despite being drawn into a conflict with the Soviet Union.Hakkanen, who has served as defence minister since June 2023, believes diplomacy is the best way forward all these years later. "We are now trying to get peace negotiations back on track," he says.

Leaders in Tokyo are, like their counterparts in Helsinki, growing more accustomed to Moscow's pressure tactics. In August, Putin visited the Northern Territories for the first time. Russia controls the islands. Japan claims them. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after World War Two. Last month, Russian authorities detained a Japanese journalist on suspicion of espionage. And on Thursday, Putin signed a decree to temporarily seize assets owned by a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco.

Hakkanen welcomed Japan's recent decision to ease restrictions on the overseas transfer of defense equipment, including, in principle, lethal weapons.He says the policy shift "opens up possibilities for cooperation.""Russia and China are growing their huge military potential. And we have to prepare ourselves… We have to have clear cooperation in industry and defense products, innovation, technological development. That's where we need each other."In fact, officials from about 20 Finnish defense-related firms accompanied Hakkanen to Japan. They introduced their technologies to Japanese firms in the hope of fostering cooperation."We have been preparing for aggressive actions for the past 85 years, so we know how to handle that," said one Finnish company official, adding that his company is always ready to cooperate.

A delegate from a satellite data company had a similar view. "We want to work with Japanese companies and bring our experience from Finland. I think we both face similar security situations and challenges."

Finland is not the only European country seeking closer security ties with Japan.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited last month with about 30 firms, some related to the defense industry. So did the head of major French defense company Thales Group for talks with Japan's State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Takagi Kei. Their conversation reportedly covered economic security, aerospace and cybersecurity.It all makes sense to Hakkanen. "We need a lot more partners than just in Europe," he says. "The security environments between Finland and Japan are heavily interconnected. As like-minded countries, we have to see the world as it is."