WASHINGTON, December 1, 2015 — Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work and Japan's State Minister of Defense Kenji Wakamiya reaffirmed the alliance between their nations during a meeting at the Pentagon today, a spokeswoman for Work said. 

In a statement summarizing the meeting, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Hillson said Work thanked Wakamiya for his continued support of the U.S.-Japan alliance and that the two leaders discussed a range of issues, including the implementation of the new guidelines for U.S.-Japan defense cooperation, the evolving security environment in the Asia-Pacific region, U.S. force realignment, and the third offset strategy for bolstering deterrence. 

A More Effective Alliance

“They agreed that the new guidelines had already established a more effective U.S.-Japan alliance and pledged to continue implementation efforts,” Hillson said. “Additionally, they both expressed strong commitment to the Futenma Replacement Facility and noted that it remains a critical step toward realigning U.S. forces on Okinawa.”

Throughout the meeting, Hillson said, the two leaders reaffirmed that the U.S.-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region, and committed to working together to strengthen and broaden the alliance to meet the security challenges of the 21st century.