Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering meeting with the leaders of South Korea, Australia and New Zealand on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's summit next week in Madrid, according to sources.
Besides Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have also been invited to the NATO summit as Asia-Pacific partners of the alliance.
Kishida has said he will attend the June 28-30 NATO gathering, which would make him the first prime minister from Japan to attend the summit of this major alliance that counts the United States and most of western Europe among its membership.