ROME — The latest step is a visit to Japan by Italian Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto, focused on technological cooperation, defense industry opportunities and closer ties between the two countries’ navies.
Why it matters: Italy’s engagement with Japan is moving beyond diplomacy and into concrete defense cooperation — from naval ties to the development of a next-generation fighter aircraft.
- The visit comes as Italy and Japan mark 160 years of diplomatic relations, which began with their 1866 Treaty of Friendship and Commerce.
- Military exercises are expected to take place during the visit, aimed at strengthening integration between the Italian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
- Defense-industrial cooperation is already anchored by the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the multinational project involving Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom to develop a next-generation combat aircraft.
The big picture: The naval visit sits within the Special Strategic Partnership developed under Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’sleadership.
- Italy’s ambassador to Japan, Mario Vattani, described the mission as another step in a growing Italian commitment to the region.
- “Italy and Japan have added — and continue to add — a strategic dimension to a relationship that is already continuous and concrete,” Vattani said.
The Italian view is that the security environments of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific are increasingly interconnected.
- For Rome, that makes cooperation with Tokyo about more than bilateral relations: it also involves protecting peace, stability, international law and freedom of navigation.
Defense and tech. Industry is becoming an important part of that relationship.
- The Italian delegation’s visit is designed in part to showcase the capabilities of Italy’s defense sector and identify opportunities for deeper cooperation with Japanese partners.
- The clearest example is GCAP. Italy, Japan and the U.K. are jointly investing in the program, which is intended to produce a new-generation combat aircraft.
- “We are partners who invest together to build security and wealth in the future,” Italian Ambassador said.
Zoom out: Indo-Pacific. The visit also reinforces a broader Italian military presence in the Indo-Pacific.
- For Rome, closer cooperation with Japan combines two priorities: strengthening ties with a key regional partner and giving Italian defense capabilities and companies a larger role in an increasingly important security theater.
Bottom line: Italy-Japan ties are becoming increasingly operational. Naval cooperation, joint exercises and GCAP show how a 160-year diplomatic relationship is developing a stronger defense and technology component — and giving Rome another foothold in Indo-Pacific security.
(Photo: X, @mariovattani)
