Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden have pledged to develop the Asian nation’s defense capabilities, Report informs referring to Kyodo News.
The Japanese government has already announced that it will allocate 211.3 billion yen ($1.65 billion) in the initial budget for fiscal 2023 to procure US-made long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to enhance its counterstrike capabilities.
Kishida conveyed the plan to Biden, a senior Japanese government official said.
The two leaders also said: “We have aligned our collective force posture and deterrence capabilities to meet new and emerging threats, including in the cyber and space domains,” while vowing to boost cooperation on nuclear power for energy security.
At the White House, Kishida told Biden that Japan and the United States are facing a “complex security environment,” adding that Tokyo’s latest defense policy shift will contribute to strengthening “deterrence” alongside Washington.
