By Mina Pollmann
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter made his first trip to Tokyo this week.
On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter visited Tokyo and held meetings with Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga (who is also responsible for reducing the burden of U.S. bases on Okinawa), and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. This is Carter’s first visit to the country since February, when he assumed his position as defense secretary.
Nakatani and Carter met as part of the process of revising the U.S.-Japan bilateral defense cooperation guidelines and agreed to settle the matter as quickly as possible. In addition to the usual rhetoric about strengthening the relationship so the alliance can take on a global role, the two agreed to cooperate in outer space and cyberspace. A new working group will be established for this purpose. Carter also condemned the unilateral use or threat of the use of force to change the territorial status quo in the East China Sea, and confirmed Obama’s 2014 position that the alliance covers all territories under Japanese administrative control, including the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. The two also affirmed that the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station within Okinawa will continue.
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