(Press Release, provisional translation)
29 October, 2026
Ministry of Defense
On 29th October 2026, Minister of Defense Koizumi held the meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence of Australia the Hon Richard Marles MP.
- The Ministers shared their views on the increasingly challenging regional security environment and confirmed that they would further advance concrete defense cooperation under the Japan-Australia “Special Strategic Partnership”.
- With regards to defense equipment and technology cooperation, building on their discussions at the Japan-Australia Defense Ministers’ Meeting in this August, the Ministers confirmed the steady progress of Australia’s general purpose frigate program, and also welcomed the continued progress in working-level coordination on the use of Australian test ranges for Japan’s hypersonic guided missile program and other projects, including the dispatch of a Japanese survey team to Australia in September. The Ministers agreed to continue close coordination toward conducting testing in Australia.
- Furthermore, the Ministers reaffirmed the importance of Japan and Australia, as a core of cooperation among like-minded countries, building a multi-layered cooperative relationship, and agreed to continue contributing to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.