(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
I visited the UK for the first time since assuming office as Defense Minister. During my previous term of office as Defense Minister, I visited the UK to attend the first Japan-UK Foreign and Defence Ministers’ Meeting (“2+2”) in 2015, and this time I was able to visit again as Defense Minister after 10 years. Regarding this visit, firstly, I visited BAE Systems’ factory in Warton yesterday, which is the center of development for the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) in the UK. Although we were supposed to travel by airplane, it was cancelled, and so we traveled by train for nearly two hours. While traveling, in close conversation, I had a very candid exchange of views with Dr. Woodburn, Chief Executive Officer of the company. CEO Woodburn and I concurred that to accelerate designing GCAP, it is critical to consolidate contracts in each country to a contract of GIGO and joint venture within this year. The Warton factory is located near Manchester, the center of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. Regarding GCAP, as it has the potential to realize revolutionary changes, it is not an exaggeration to say it could bring about the Industrial Revolution of the 21st century, and Japan will also make efforts to realize that. At Warton, I also saw that engineers from the three countries of Japan, the UK, and Italy are jointly carrying out the design work, and I directly exchanged views with the engineers on the field. There were also people who had come from Japan, and I strongly felt that all of them are working with extremely high motivation, enthusiasm, and high conscientiousness. Moreover, today, I held the Japan-UK Defense Ministers Meeting with Secretary of State for Defence John Healey for my first bilateral meeting with the UK since assuming office. Secretary Healey and I discussed on the defense cooperation and regional affairs. I welcomed that the deployment of the carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific region and port call in Japan are planned in 2025. While we are pursuing substantial joint exercises during the deployment this time, we could also consider conducting joint exercises that would include the F-35B aircraft, introduced to Japan Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) going forward. In addition, I conveyed to Secretary Healey that we are considering the deployment of ASDF fighter aircraft to the UK in the future. Furthermore, we exchanged views on the progress in the area of Japan-UK defense equipment and technology cooperation including GCAP, and concurred to further deepen cooperation. I realize that Japan and the UK have steadily deepened their cooperation as the closest security partners in Asia and Europe, and the security cooperation between the two countries has been strengthened and is nothing compared to what it was 10 years ago, my previous visit. We intend to continue to work on further strengthening cooperation with the UK, including enhancing intelligence cooperation, and to strengthen partnerships with the UK and other like-minded countries toward realizing a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” These were my impressions from my visit to the UK.