Hegseth, Nakatani discuss US-Japan defence alliance in first phone call
New US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani agreed in their first phone call Friday to continue efforts to strengthen the countries' alliance, Tokyo said.
Hegseth – a former infantryman and Fox News personality – was sworn in last weekend, having narrowly won Senate confirmation despite allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and concerns over inexperience.
Key allies Japan and the United States are each other's top foreign investors, and 54,000 US military personnel are stationed in Japan, mostly in Okinawa east of Taiwan.
But President Donald Trump's 'America First' approach could mean less cash from Washington for security in the region, analysts have warned. Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani. Photo: JIJI Press via AFP
'The ministers affirmed their firm intent to continue the initiatives to reinforce the alliance, including the upgrading of respective command and control framework and expansion of bilateral presence in the southwestern region of Japan,' Tokyo's defence ministry said.
Nakatani said 'he looks forward to working with Secretary Hegseth to further strengthen the alliance capabilities to deter and respond amid the increasingly severe security environment' in the Asia-Pacific, the ministry statement added.
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