Kishida vows to strengthen alliance with U.S.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday vowed to further strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of Japan’s security alliance with the United States in his talks with U.S. defense and foreign chiefs in Tokyo.

At the meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Kishida said he hopes to have “discussions and concrete cooperation at various levels and frameworks,” including at the leaders’ and the ministers’ levels, to further enhance deterrence.

Austin told Kishida that Sunday’s “two-plus-two” meeting between the foreign and defense ministers of Japan and the United States in the Japanese capital was “very productive…I think in some ways you could describe it as historic.”

“We remain absolutely committed to the defense of Japan,” Austin said at the outset, which was open to the media. “So I look forward to continuing to work with my counterpart in strengthening our ties.”

Blinken added, “I think it is very safe to report that our alliance is stronger than it’s ever been.”

At the “two-plus-two” talks, in which Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara from Japan participated, the ministers agreed to strengthen so-called extended deterrence, which includes U.S. nuclear protection provided to Japan, amid China’s assertiveness in the region and the North Korean nuclear threat.

At the talks, Japan and the United States also agreed to upgrade the command functions of U.S. Forces Japan for better coordination of their bilateral alliance.

Following up on the agreements, Kihara and Austin concurred Monday at their bilateral talks to accelerate efforts to enhance the command and control structures of the Self-Defense Forces and the USFJ through working groups planned to be set up, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry.

The reconstituted USFJ is expected to serve as an important counterpart of the SDF’s joint operation headquarters, which will be launched by March 2025 to unify the command of its ground, maritime and air services.

At the outset of the bilateral talks, Austin referred to China’s assertiveness and North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and said peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region is the mission of the security alliance.

Kihara said he looks forward to closely cooperating with the United States on crucial measures to strengthen the deterrence aspect of the alliance.