<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said today the country had no plans to become a NATO member but acknowledged the security alliance's plan to open a liaison office in Japan.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Kishida's comments came after Japan's ambassador to the US Koji Tomita, earlier this month said Tokyo and NATO were working towards opening an office – the first in Asia, to facilitate consultations in the region.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">After Kishida's statement not ruling out the possibility of opening a NATO office, China reacted sternly. Beijing said Asia-Pacific does not welcome NATO's plan.</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"> </p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Japan hosted the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima over the weekend, where the leaders of rich democracies agreed to "de-risk, not decouple" economic engagement with China and reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.</span></p>