Matthew Shaw comments

Russia not being as strong as we were lead to believe makes it a little easier to say there isn't a need to join NATO but Russia has made it clear they will side with China in any conflict with Japan. Japan should let their people decide on applying to join NATO. I think dissuasions should start because it may force China and Russia to distance each other. Just make it clear that discussions have started because of the provocations Russia has made towards Japan . Japan joining NATO would probably bring more peace to the world because the larger the alliance the less likely and invasion of a NATO country increases. Japan and India are closer to each other than has been reported. A NATO base in Japan should be avoided but never say never, just announce it will be dependent on the actions made by Russia and never mention China. Not mentioning China will be key.