By Kantaro Komiya and Satoshi Sugiyama
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday the country had no&nbsp;plans to become a&nbsp;NATO&nbsp;member but acknowledged the security alliance's&nbsp;plan&nbsp;to open a&nbsp;liaison&nbsp;office&nbsp;in&nbsp;Japan.
Kishida's comments came after the&nbsp;Japanese ambassador to the United States said earlier this month that the U.S.-led military pact was&nbsp;planning a Tokyo&nbsp;office, the first in Asia, to facilitate consultations in the region.
"I am not&nbsp;aware&nbsp;of any decision made" at&nbsp;NATO&nbsp;regarding the establishment of the&nbsp;office, Kishida told a Wednesday parliament session, adding his country was not&nbsp;planning to&nbsp;join&nbsp;NATO&nbsp;as a member or semi-member state.
In response, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called&nbsp;Japan's move something the Asia-Pacific region "does not welcome," saying Tokyo should be "extra cautious on the issue of military security" given its "history of aggression".
Japan&nbsp;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.
Kishida is arranging to attend a&nbsp;NATO&nbsp;summit scheduled to be held in Lithuania in July, Kyodo news agency reported later on Wednesday, citing&nbsp;Japanese government officials.
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Jacqueline Wong)

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