On March 26, commencing from around 3:40 p.m. for approximately 20 minutes, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo received a courtesy call from General Robert B. Neller, Commandant of the Marine Corps, during his visit to Japan. Attendees to the meeting include, from the U.S. side, Mr. Joseph Young, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy in Japan, and others, and from the Japan side, Mr. Nishimura Yasutoshi, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Nogami Kotaro, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, and others. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. At the beginning, Prime Minister Abe welcomed General Neller’s visit to Japan and stated that the U.S. Forces in Japan play an important role in the very difficult security environment and that he highly appreciates their dedication. He also stated that he intends to work closely with the U.S to steadily mitigate impact on Okinawa in order to ensure the stable stationing of U.S. Forces in Japan, while maintaining deterrence. He also expressed his desire to further promote bilateral cooperation to strengthen the response and deterrence capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance and to realize a Free and Open Indo-Pacific region.
In response, General Neller stated that the relationship between the U.S. Forces and the SDF is solid and is being strengthened day by day, and that he appreciates the training opportunities with the SDF and Japan’s support for the U.S. Marine Corps presence in the region. He stated that the U.S. Marine Corps will also strive to maintain good relations with the local community, and that he is grateful for Japan’s efforts regarding the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
2. The two sides then exchanged views on a wide range of topics regarding Japan-U.S. defense and security cooperation and the regional situation, including the situation in North Korea, and reaffirmed that it is important for the two countries to continue to maintain deterrence and response capabilities and work closely together.
3. They also confirmed the importance of making steady progress on the relocation of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko.
