May 3, 2024
Ministry of Defense
On May 2, Defense Minister Kihara and Defense Secretary Austin held discussions from 11:53 (local time) for approximately 45 minutes in Hawaii. The summary is as follows.
The Ministers reaffirmed that they should not tolerate unilateral changes to the status quo by force and such attempts in any region including the Indo-Pacific, and they need to strengthen the Alliance capabilities to deter and respond to that end.
The Ministers affirmed strategic initiatives to strengthen the Alliance capabilities to deter and respond, which were confirmed at Japan-U.S. Summit Meeting in April this year, and affirmed that they will closely cooperate to realize the initiatives. The Ministers also affirmed that they will continue to strengthen cooperation with like-minded regional partners in order to realize a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
The Ministers concurred that, in order to strengthen interoperability between the U.S. Forces and Self Defense Forces, they will continue discussions to upgrade their respective command and control frameworks, etc. while confirming progress on this issue.
The Ministers confirmed that they will move forward with preparation to hold a Forum on Defense Industrial Cooperation, Acquisition and Sustainment (DICAS) as early as possible, and concurred that they will accelerate discussions on co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment through DICAS and further deepen defense equipment cooperation between the two countries.
The Ministers concurred that they will deepen discussions on extended deterrence on the occasion of the next security “2+2” meeting.
The Ministers once again concurred the importance of steadily expanding bilateral presence of Japan and the U.S. in Southwestern region.
The Ministers concurred that they will continue to closely cooperate between the two countries to steadily advance the realignment of facilities and areas of U.S. Forces in Japan, including the return of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and its relocation to Henoko, from the perspective of maintaining deterrence and mitigating impact on the local communities. They also concurred on the importance of cooperation from the local communities for the stable stationing of the U.S. Forces in Japan and their daily activities, and confirmed continued coordination including supporting strong relationship with the local communities.