US and Japan hold defense talks at Pentagon

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin welcomed his Japanese counterpart, Yasukazu Hamada, to the Pentagon Thursday for bilateral defense talks.

The two nations are in the process of boosting military and security cooperation amid rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.Their meeting took place as Washington is preparing to roll out the red carpet for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's White House visit with President Joe Biden on Friday.