August 7, 2019
On August 7, commencing from around 9:10 a.m. for approximately 45 minutes, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo received a courtesy call from the Honorable Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense of the United States of America, during his visit to Japan. Attendees to the meeting include, from the Japanese side, Mr. Iwaya Takeshi, Minister of Defense, Mr. Nishimura Yasutoshi, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Nogami Kotaro, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, and others, and from the U.S. side, Mr. Joseph Young, Charge d’Affaires ad interim, U.S. Embassy in Japan, and others. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. At the beginning, Prime Minister Abe congratulated Secretary Esper on his appointment. He also mentioned that he and President Trump and Mrs. Trump boarded JS “Kaga” together, demonstrating the strong Japan-U.S. Alliance, during their visit to Japan as state guests. He also expressed his desire to further deepen cooperation to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. Alliance. In response, Secretary Esper stated that he prioritized the Indo-Pacific region as his first official trip overseas after assuming office, and that he was particularly pleased to visit Japan at an early date. He also stated that the U.S.-Japan Alliance is stronger than ever under Prime Minister Abe’s leadership.
2. Both sides affirmed that the U.S.-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, welcomed the steady progress of U.S.-Japan cooperation in realizing Free and Open Indo-Pacific, and agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation. They also agreed to strengthen cooperation for cross-domain operations, including space and cyber.
3. In addition, they confirmed that they will continue to work closely together to align the future policies and aim for CVID by North Korea in light of the latest situation surrounding the country, including the latest missile launch.
In addition, Prime Minister Abe requested the cooperation of the U.S. government for the early settlement of the abductions issue, and Secretary Esper expressed his continued support towards Japan’s efforts for the settlement.
4. They reaffirmed their commitment to steadily proceed with the realignment of U.S. Forces in Japan, including the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko, from the perspective of mitigating impact on Okinawa and other local communities, while maintaining the deterrence of the Japan-U.S. alliance.