Press Conference by Defense Minister Nakatani on Friday, January 10, 2025, at 10:04 AM

(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)

I will visit the UK from Monday, January 13 to Thursday, January 16.

In the UK, I will be holding the Japan-UK Defense Ministerial Meeting with Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt. Hon. John Healey, the first such meeting since I became Minister. Japan and the UK are the closest security partners for each other in Asia and Europe. During this visit to the UK, I would like to firmly confirm, at a high level, the further promotion of defense cooperation and exchanges between Japan and the UK, including in the fields of equipment and technology, such as GCAP and AUKUS “Pillar 2”. Since I assumed office as the Minister of Defense, I have taken various opportunities to emphasize that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable. On this visit to the UK, in addition to sharing this recognition with Secretary Healey once again, I also hope to affirm our strong solidarity with the UK toward maintaining and strengthening a free and open international order based on the rule of law. In addition, during the visit, I plan to visit the headquarters of the GCAP International Government Organisation (GIGO) that was established last month, and to exchange views with Mr. Oka Masami, the first Chief Executive leading the GIGO headquarters, on promoting GCAP. I also plan to visit the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) of the British Armed Forces, and apply what I learn as a resource for Japan’s joint operations in the future.