Iwaya, Blinken Discuss Next U.S. Administration's State Secretary

Lima, Peru, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the expected nomination of Sen. Marco Rubio as state secretary under the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, at a meeting Thursday in Lima, Peru.

In the roughly 30-minute meeting, Iwaya and Blinken also confirmed their collaboration for strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance in light of China's hegemonic activities.

According to the Japanese foreign minister, Blinken said that he will thoroughly pass on the work of the State Department to Rubio, whom he described as a nice guy.

"I want to build a strong trust relationship with my counterpart in the next (U.S.) administration," Iwaya told reporters.

It was the first in-person meeting between Iwaya and Blinken since the Japanese minister took office last month. Iwaya explained to the secretary of state that boosting the bilateral alliance was the top priority for diplomacy and security under the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and the two discussed the state of the region including China and North Korea.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]