September 24, 2019
On September 23, Defense Minister Kono held a telephone conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Esper. The summery is as follows.
Minister Kono exchanged his greetings upon his appointment and the Ministers agreed that they will work together to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. Alliance.
The Ministers confirmed the importance of supporting the full implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions for a CVID of all North Korea’s WMD and ballistic missiles of all ranges.
The Ministers agreed to work together to maintain and strengthen a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
The Ministers welcomed the alignment of Japan’s National Defense Program Guidelines and U.S.’s National Defense Strategy (NDS), and shared their recognition to enhance the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. Alliance.
The Ministers confirmed to work closely together for the steady implementation of the U.S. forces realignment initiatives including the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma to Henoko.