Japan, British Defense Chiefs Reaffirm Space, Cyber Cooperation
Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani and his British counterpart, John Healey, agreed Thursday to deepen their countries' cooperation in space, cyber and other fields.
During their meeting at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo, the defence chiefs also agreed to boost technical cooperation on defence equipment, including the joint development of a next-generation fighter jet by the two countries plus Italy.
Nakatani welcomed a British aircraft carrier strike group led by the HMS Prince of Wales, making a port call to Japan, saying that this demonstrated Britain's further commitment to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and would further strengthen bilateral defence ties.
Nakatani and Healey issued a joint statement saying that the Japanese Self-Defence Forces and the British military will promote people-to-people exchanges.
At a joint press conference, Healey said that the Air SDF's F-15 fighters will soon visit Europe.
Before the meeting with Nakatani, Healey visited Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. They shared the view that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and that of the Indo-Pacific are inseparable and agreed to strengthen defence cooperation between Japan and Britain.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
