Japan, U.S. to hold 2-plus-2 talks on April 19

April 16, 2019

Tokyo--Japan and the United States will hold a so-called two-plus-two meeting of foreign and defense officials in Washington on Friday, Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Tuesday.

At the meeting, the two countries are expected to coordinate defense policies and exchange opinions over a crash of a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-35A fighter jet on April 9. The cutting-edge stealth fighter jet crashed into the Pacific during an exercise after taking off from the ASDF's Misawa base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

The meeting, the first one since August 2017, will be attended by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, Iwaya, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan.

A separate meeting between Kono and Pompeo is also planned.

In the new National Defense Program Guidelines and the new Medium-Term Defense Program, formulated last year, Japan plans to enhance its defense capabilities in new fields, such as outer space, cybersecurity and electromagnetic waves.

Japan hopes to strengthen collaboration with the United States, which is superior in these fields, informed sources said.

"I want to fully discuss how Japan and the United States should cooperate in the new fields," Iwaya said.

Regarding the F-35A crash, Iwaya expressed readiness to call for cooperation from the United States in order to find out the cause of the accident.

"It is the latest accident. We will fully discuss the issue," Iwaya added.

Kono and Iwaya will visit the United States for four days from Thursday. Jiji Press