September 19, 2026
Ministry of Defense
On September 18, commencing at around 9:35 p.m. for approximately 10 minutes, Defense Minister Koizumi and Secretary of War Hegseth held a telephone conference. The summary is as follows.
Minister Koizumi stated that, as he continues to serve as Minister of Defense, he feels a strong sense of urgency to advance the revision of Japan’s three strategic documents and the transformation of Japan’s defense capabilities with greater speed and intensity than ever before. He also noted that, building on the trust established through eight rounds of exceptionally close communication, including this latest telephone conference, with Secretary Hegseth, he looks forward to further deepening cooperation with the Secretary in order to build an even stronger and more unwavering Japan-U.S. Alliance.
Secretary Hegseth congratulated Minister Koizumi on his continuation in office as Minister of Defense following the Cabinet reshuffle and expressed his strong desire to build on the personal trust he has developed with Minister Koizumi and work even more closely together going forward.
The Ministers concurred that they would continue to advance a wide range of security cooperation with a strong sense of urgency in order to further strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. Alliance.
The Ministers also concurred to meet in person in the near future.
Japan-U.S. Defense Ministerial Telephone Conference (Summary).pdf