Japan and US defense chiefs agree to enhance deterrence, response capabilities

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth welcomed Japan's defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi, to Washington on Thursday for a bilateral engagement at the Pentagon. At the meeting, both had agreed to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the bilateral alliance amid the increasingly severe security environment in the Indo-Pacific region.

The two chiefs confirmed that the two countries will conduct high-level, practical joint drills in the southwestern region of Japan. They also reaffirmed plans to enhance cooperation in defense equipment and technology to complement each other’s defense industry bases.