Tokyo, Sept. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held phone talks on Friday night and reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to advancing a wide range of security cooperation in order to further strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance. The 10-minute phone call came after Koizumi was reappointed in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet reshuffle on Thursday. It was the eighth round of talks between the two defense chiefs, including face-to-face meetings. During the latest talks, Koizumi and Hegseth also agreed to meet in person soon, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry. Koizumi noted that he would like to further deepen his cooperation with Hegseth to strengthen and solidify the bilateral alliance. He also indicated his intention to steadily work on revising Japan’s three key national security-related documents. Hegseth extended his congratulations on Koizumi’s reappointment and expressed his strong hope to work more closely together with the Japanese counterpart. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
