(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
I first held a meeting with the host country of Singapore. It was my first defense ministerial meeting with Mr. Chan, who has been appointed Minister for Defence. We discussed the direction of future defense cooperation between Japan and Singapore. It was very meaningful. There was also discussion of past defense cooperation between the two countries. Singaporean students have been studying at the National Defense Academy of Japan from 40 years ago. Minister Chan stated that they comprise a significant core of the military and are doing a fine job. Afterwards, I delivered a speech during the second plenary session. In my speech, I emphasized once again that, as the bedrock of peace and prosperity in the region and the world is being largely undermined, it is important for defense authorities to take a broad and panoramic view of the Indo-Pacific and generate synergy through enhanced collaboration and cooperation. I proposed that we call this direction the spirit of “One Cooperative Effort Among Nations: Perspective for the Indo-Pacific,” or OCEAN. Similar views were also expressed by France and the U.S. Even before today, I have confirmed with my counterparts the importance of enhancing collaboration and cooperation while taking a broad and panoramic view of the Indo-Pacific. I believe that being able to present this direction as the spirit of OCEAN at the Shangri-La Dialogue was very beneficial for making further efforts toward peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, together with other countries. Following my speech, I held a Japan-France Defense Ministerial Meeting with Minister for the Armed Forces Lecornu of France from 11:10 a.m. for approximately 25 minutes. During the meeting, Japan and France, a country with shared values and principles, discussed regional security, bilateral security and defense cooperation, among other matters, and confirmed the further strengthening of bilateral collaboration. I then held a Japan-U.S. Defense Ministerial Meeting from 12:00 p.m. today for approximately 35 minutes. It followed on from the meeting held in March of this year. At the in-person meeting with Secretary Hegseth, we further deepened our relationship of trust. We discussed various Japan-U.S. defense cooperation initiatives, and confirmed that the two sides will coordinate closely together to align the strategic priorities of both countries as the U.S. Department of Defense prepares a new National Defense Strategy. Furthermore, I explained Japan’s initiatives to improve our cyber security capabilities, including the enactment of the Cyber Response Capability Strengthening Act, and we concurred to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation in the cyber domain. Additionally, I mentioned the importance of steadily proceeding with the realignment of U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) and obtaining the understanding of local governments for maintaining and strengthening the Alliance, and the need to advance cooperation to prevent the recurrence of incidents and accidents involving USFJ. I intend to continue working closely with Secretary Hegseth in order to further strengthen the Alliance capabilities to deter and respond.