Acting Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to its alliance with Japan in meetings with Japanese government leaders in Tokyo.
Shanahan met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya, Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga yesterday at the conclusion of a weeklong trip that included visits to Hawaii, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.
In his meeting with Abe, Shanahan reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to fully implementing all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, to achieving the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea, and to maintaining U.S. support for a resolution to the Japanese abductee issue.
Both Iwaya and Shanahan committed to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, achieving the final, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea, and further strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance and defense cooperation between both countries. They also agreed to deepening cooperation in cross-domain operations, meaning operations in air, land, sea, cyber and space.
Among other topics, Kono and Shanahan discussed efforts to protect the industrial base and safeguard critical infrastructure by enhancing cyber, space and information security cooperation.
Shanahan thanked Suga his strong leadership and support for the steady implementation of the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, including the Futenma Replacement Facility on the island of Okinawa.