Washington: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed Friday to work closely for the success of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s state visit to the United States, planned for early March.

During their one-hour meeting in Washington, the top Japanese and U.S. diplomats also agreed to cooperate in dealing with China. They affirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and called for a peaceful resolution of tensions across the strait.

This is Kamikawa’s first visit to Washington since becoming foreign minister in September last year.

Kishida’s upcoming state visit “will be very valuable in terms of deepening close cooperation between Japan and the United States in all fields,” Kamikawa told reporters.

Also at the meeting, Kamikawa and Blinken agreed to deal with North Korea’s continued missile development through bilateral cooperation and through trilateral cooperation with South Korea.

On Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the two shared the position of continuing severe sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine.

They vowed to continue diplomatic efforts to prevent the conflict between Israel and the Islamic group Hamas from spreading to other parts of the Middle East, and agreed to take necessary measures together with other related countries to tackle Yemen’s Houthi pro-Iranian militants.

Meanwhile, Kamikawa called for cooperation to include the perspectives of women’s participation and gender equality in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, for which Blinken expressed support. The Japanese foreign minister told reporters that her ministry plans to appoint an ambassador in charge of the issue.

Kamikawa also met with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

JIJI Press