Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday vowed to work closely together in upholding a rules-based international order, amid Russia's war in Ukraine and China's assertiveness.
Meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven foreign ministerial talks in Karuizawa, central Japan, the two also agreed to cooperate in dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs and seek to strengthen their bilateral alliance's defense capabilities, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
"At a crucial moment on whether or not the global community can firmly maintain the free and open international order based on the rule of law, we confirmed that Japan and the United States will continue to collaborate," Hayashi told reporters after the talks.
As Russia continues its war with Ukraine, Japan has been emphasizing that the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific are inseparable, and unilaterally changing the status quo should never be tolerated anywhere in the world.
The security situation in the Indo-Pacific region remains tense, with China pushing its territorial claims in the East and South China seas and pressuring Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing views as its own.
North Korea, meanwhile, has been carrying out a barrage of missile tests and the country's official media has reported that the most recent one saw a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile test-fired on Thursday.
Recognizing the increasing significance of U.S. involvement in shaping the region's economic order, Hayashi and Blinken reaffirmed their cooperation for progress in negotiations under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a U.S.-led initiative for enhanced economic cooperation, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
The IPEF, now joined by 14 countries such as Japan, South Korea and India, has been seen as a sign that the United States is seeking to reassert its economic leadership in the region following the country's pullout in 2017 from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement under then Republican President Donald Trump.
Hayashi and Blinken also agreed during their 20-minute talks to continue to cooperate to make the G-7 summit in Hiroshima in western Japan a success, according to the Japanese ministry.
Earlier in the day, Hayashi met with his British counterpart James Cleverly and vowed to further deepen their cooperation in the security realm such as by seeking an early entry into force of an agreement that facilitates joint military drills, the ministry said.
The Reciprocal Access Agreement sets rules on the transportation of weapons during joint exercises or disaster relief operations in each other's countries. It was signed by the two countries' leaders in January.
Hayashi also held separate talks with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, with the two agreeing to continue to cooperate in dealing with China and North Korea, the ministry said.
Hayashi called on Germany work to remove import restrictions on some Japanese food items imposed by the European Union in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, it said.
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