August 16, 2022
Ministry of Defense
On August 16, Defense Minister Hamada and Defense Secretary Austin held a telephone conference. The summary is as follows.
At the outset, Minister Hamada offered his greetings as a new Defense Minister and Secretary Austin congratulated Minister Hamada for his appointment.
The Ministers strongly condemned China’s ballistic missile launch early this month, including those that landed within Japan’s EEZ, and confirmed that both sides would cooperate closely and seamlessly including at the Ministerial level in order to respond to any situation within the region. In addition, the Ministers concurred upon the importance of defense cooperation among Japan, U.S. and ROK considering the current situation in North Korea.
Minister Hamada resolved to fundamentally reinforce the defense capabilities of Japan through the formulation of National Security Strategy and other documents. Secretary Austin welcomed the initiative. The Ministers confirmed that they would align the strategies of the two countries.
The Ministers agreed that both countries would closely cooperate for the steady progress of the realignment initiatives of the U.S. Forces in Japan.
The Ministers confirmed that they would continue to work closely together to further strengthen Japan-U.S. defense cooperation and to maintain and strengthen the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”