TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan and Sweden agreed Wednesday to deepen cooperation in areas ranging from the economy to security by elevating bilateral ties to a "strategic partnership" at the first summit of their current leaders.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who took office in October, backed Sweden's move to join the NATO military alliance following Russia's war against Ukraine and expressed hope to work even more closely with the Nordic country.

Ishiba called it a "great pleasure" to be able to lift bilateral ties to the status of a strategic partnership, telling his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson at the outset of the meeting in Tokyo, "We hope to deepen cooperation in the field of security."

The two leaders agreed that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific is "increasingly interlinked," underscoring the importance of collaboration between NATO and its partners like Japan, a joint statement issued after the meeting said.

Ishiba and Kristersson condemned Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the deepening of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, including North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia in support of the war in the Eastern European country.

The closer relationship "negatively impacts security both in the Indo-Pacific and in Europe," the statement said.

The two leaders also strongly opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion anywhere in the world, in an apparent reference to Russia and China. However, they also expressed readiness to build "constructive and stable" ties with Beijing, according to the document.

Japan and Sweden see each other as key partners, sharing a commitment to freedom, the rule of law, and human rights. Sweden joined NATO in March, marking a historic shift from military neutrality to bolster security against neighboring Russia, while Japan faces the challenge of an increasingly assertive China.

Ishiba has long been an advocate for creating an Asian version of NATO, though he has toned down his rhetoric since becoming prime minister.

During their meeting, Ishiba and Kristersson agreed on the need to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons, denouncing Russia's threats to use nuclear weapons and expressing concerns about China's nuclear buildup that lacks transparency.

The Swedish prime minister congratulated Nihon Hidankyo, a group of survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on winning this year's Nobel Peace Prize during remarks to Ishiba that were open to the press.