(Press Release: Provisional Translation)
4 September, 2024
Ministry of Defense
1. Visit to HMAS Kuttabul
On September 4, Defense Minister Kihara visited HMAS Kuttabul (Sydney, Australia). He conducted an on-site tour, and offered flowers and a silent prayer at the Kuttabul memorial for the souls of 19 Australian Defence Force personnel and two British Service members who died in the attack by the former Japanese Navy’s special underwater vehicle in 1942, and at the "Matsuo-tei" where there is a memorial for the deceased former Japanese Service member, respectively.
2. Japan-Australia Defense Ministerial Meeting
Starting from 5:40PM on the same day, Minister Kihara and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP held the defense ministerial meeting in Werribee (near Melbourne, Australia) for approximately one hour. The summary is as follows:
- Minister Kihara expressed a strong concern about the increase of China’s military activities around Japan, especially the recent intrusion into Japan’s territorial airspace. The Ministers shared their views to further strengthen cooperation against the unilateral attempts to change the status-quo by force or coercion.
- Minister Kihara mentioned the significance of efforts to develop common capabilities and enhance interoperability under the shared strategies of Japan and Australia, and the Ministers shared their views to continue to promote cooperation between counterstrike capabilities that leverage Japanese stand-off defense capabilities and Australia's long-range strike capabilities.
- The Ministers welcomed the progress in the discussions on the Scope, Objectives and Forms of enhanced operational cooperation based on the Japan-Australia Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation. They also confirmed progress in operational cooperation including ISR and joint training between Japan Self-Defense Forces and Australian Defence Force, and reaffirmed to further develop initiatives to improve interoperability.
- The Ministers also confirmed the significance of promoting trilateral defense cooperation, with the United States, which is an ally of both countries, in strengthening deterrence and response capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region, and reaffirmed to further strengthen cooperation with like-minded countries in the region towards the realization of "Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.