Japan, U.S. Defense Chiefs to Meet on Sun.

Tokyo, March 25 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Tuesday he will meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

Nakatani and Hegseth are expected to discuss stronger collaboration between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military, following Monday's launch of the SDF Joint Operations Command, which brings the Ground, Maritime and Air SDFs under a single command.

The agenda for the meeting may also include an increase in Japan's defense spending.

The upcoming meeting with Hegseth, who will be visiting Japan for the first time since taking office in January, "will be of great significance for Japan's defense and the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific," Nakatani told a press conference.

Hegseth is scheduled to visit the Pacific island of Iwoto, also known as Iwojima, to attend a Japan-U.S. joint memorial ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The island was a fierce battleground during the war.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]